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TORPEDOED IN 
THE MEDITERRANEAN 






A TRUE STORY BY A SURVIVOR 

E. H. JOHNSON 



Copyright 1918 by J. S. Ogilvie 
Publishing Co. . 



NEW YORK 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO. 

57 ROSE STREET 



M'-% im 






GU501087 



FOKEWORD 



The 8. 8. Berwick Law sailed from Newport 
News September' 17, 1917, with horses and other 
cargo for the British armies in Palestine. 

The writer was one of thirty-five men engaged 
as horsemen, and according to articles" signed 
before the British vice-consnl there, agreed to 
perform this service to Alexandria, Egypt, or 
some other Mediterranean port. 

The British government in turn agreed to re- 
turn the horsemen to the United States, some- 
where north of Hatteras. 

To relate in detail such incidents and observa- 
tions (not detrimental to the Allied cause) of 
this rather remarkable voyage, where I wit- 
nessed the sinking of comrade ships by enemy 
gunfire, was chased by hostile raiders, and on 
the return trip torpedoed and .sunk by two Ger- 
man submarines off the coast of North Africa, 
with one of our crew shot down by a German 
officer on the deck of our own ship; the subse- 
quent return by land and sea through Algeria, 
France, and England, to our own country, will 
be my effort in the following pages. 



TO THE LOWLY HORSEMAN 



Since August, 1914, horses and mules by the 
hundreds of thousands have been shipped to the 
Allies from the United States. 

To you has fallen the task of caring for these 
while in transit overseas. It has been a hard 
game, but you have played it well and without 
a whimper; seldom, if ever, getting an even 
break, often shunned, always detested, by your 
cousins across the way — people of a country 
where labor and women are the two cheapest 
items. 

Some of you have gone down in the sea, some 
to enemy prison camps. Some have returned to 
go again. Always you have played the game — 
hard workers, hard drinkers, hard fighters. I 
have seen you hold your own in tight places — 
dare to stand for living wages and fair treat- 
ment, with never an insult to decent womanhood. 



BOLLCALL-MULE NAVY 



Head Foreman: 




Joe Denison, 


Pennsylvania 


Foremen: 




J. A. NlFONG, 


North Carolina 


E. H. Johnson, 


Arizona 


Joe Smith, 


South Carolina 


Chables Dowd, 


District of Columbia 


Cooks: 




Jim Storey, 


New York 


Harry Obdyke, 


Pennsylvania 


Peggies : 




Geo. Kose, 


Delaware 


Fred Wilkinson, 


Connecticut 


Night Watch: 




Henry Baker, 


New Jersey- 


Monk Dorsett, 


South Carolina 


Horsemen: 




Spencer, Willis, 


Bates, 


Charnley, Eeinsfeldt, 


Mackey, 


CoLLIGAN, McELROY, 


Connelly, 


MOONEY, FlTZPATRICK, 


Lewis, 


Ashe', Gallagher, 


Keegan, 


PURCELL, LUMSDEN, 


Donnelly, 


Dalcour, Delaney, 


E. Scott, 


W. Scott, McGrann, 





TORPEDOED 
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 

Sept. 14. 

ARRIVED at Newport News via Old Point 
Comfort from Baltimore. 
Breakfast served at " Hotel Brabrand. ,r 
Signed up for stores, tobacco, clothing, etc. 
Photos taken for passports. 
Signed articles before the British vice-consul. 
"Went aboard ship, — assigned quarters. 
Horemen quartered aft with one peggy for 
mess. 

Foreman quartered 'midships with peggy for 
mess and cabin. 

Sept. 15. 
Aboard ship. "Nothing to do till tomorrow." 

Sept. 16. 

Horses loaded by longshoremen and put in 
our charge. I was assigned to main deck, aft 
— four men and sixty-three horses. 

Daily Routine 

5.30 A.M.— Coffee served to all. 

6.00 A.M.— Horses watered and fed hay. 

7.00 A.M.— Breakfast. 



8 TORPEDOED IN 

8.00 to 11 A. M.— Clean stables. 
11.30 A.M. — Horses watered and fed grain. 
12.00 Noon— Dinner. 

4.00 P.M. — Horses watered and fed grain and 
hay. 

5.00 P.M.— Supper. 

The afternoons were off hours, to be passed 
in reading, sleeping, or just being seasick — a 
matter of choice. 

Chief engineer arrived with new Victrola and 
box of records; made his acquaintance on the 
spot. 

Boy with cigars, cigarettes and large bundle 
of periodicals and magazines, donated by ship- 
ping agent, Thos. S. Brabrand. 

Colonel Hassell, British remount officer, in- 
spected cargo and ship. 

Cleared the dock and moved out into the 
stream. 

Life belts issued and crew assigned to life 
boats. 

Sept. 17. 

Sailed 7 A. M. 

After we had cleared the Virginia capes and 
squared away for Gibraltar, our first port of 
call, we began to take stock of ourselves and 
what we had set out to do. 

Of the thirty-five horsemen there were but two 
or three who had not before been to sea. Some 
had made as many as twenty trips across ; there- 
fore most of us knew just about what kind of 
a game we were up against. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 9 

When we had first answered the rollcall of the 
shipping agent at Baltimore we expected to go 
to England and return, ordinarily a trip of forty 
to sixty days. Not until we arrived at the port 
of embarkation did we learn we were destined to 
Alexandria or Port Said with Genoa a possible 
side issue. 

It was then that those wise in the ways of U- 
boats predicted there would be something doing,, 
for the sunny Mediterranean is a favored hunt- 
ing ground during the fall and winter months 
for these underseas craft. 

We had embarked on a voyage of approxi- 
mately fifteen thousand miles, mostly through 
the known danger zone, and took such steps in 
organization, etc.,. as would appear best for all 
concerned. 

With the ship itself we had no fault to find. 
A sturdy vessel built in Glasgow, and only eight 
years old, she could develop a speed of 15 knots 
in an emergency and would average 11 and 12 
knots if not hampered by convoy or sailing 
orders. 

Her commander, Capt. Henderson, was an old- 
timer, a former skipper of sailing ships. In 
his day he had surely sailed the seven seas. To 
him the far places were no strangers. (Later I 
was to see him go aboard an enemy submarine, 
a prisoner, and a sad and broken man.) 

The ship's crew were of many nations. First 
Mate Stafford, an Irishman ; Second Mate Stark, 
an English lad. The engineers were Scotch. 
The sailors, Rowland, Borge Larsen, Morfin, 



10 TORPEDOED IN 

Larsen, and "Frisco," belonged to as many 
countries. Bos'n Gibbs, a Canadian. The two 
wireless, two apprentice boys, the carpenter and 
the two gunners were Scotch and English. The 
horse doctor (we had no "human doctor"), an 
American. The stewards and firemen were 
Chinese. 

That part of the cargo which directly con- 
cerned us was the 400 horses quartered on the, 
main and first 'tween decks. These were all 
small animals, selected for cavalry service, and 
I believe the cleanest, healthiest-looking horses 
ever shipped out of any country. 

From the date of loading in the United States 
until discharged on the banks of the Suez, they 
were aboard ship just 43 days without a single 
loss or serious injury, and cost the British gov- 
ernment just about $750 per head, landed there. 

Fair weather and a fine sea. The veriest 
novice could not have a chance of becoming sea- 
sick if he so desired. 

Have not sighted a single ship; must be on an 
isolated course. 

From out the void of the western Pacific the 
wireless picked up our first S. 0. S. A ship was 
calling for aid. She was being shelled by a 
submarine, and, according to location, was on 
our same course and some miles ahead. Later, 
we learned a tanker had been sunk; of the fate 
of the crew we learned nothing definite. Here 
I will state that merchant ships are not allowed 
to go to the assistance of other ships in such 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 11 

cases, but have instructions to get away from 
that locality as quickly as possible. 

Our course was changed. We did not see any 
signs of either the U-boat or its victim. On the 
following day about noon another S. 0. S. was 
received from nearly the same location. Did not 
learn what kind of ship, nor what occurred, 
Going under forced draught, to get as far away 
as possible, seemed to be the sole ambition of 
every one on board. 

Near the Strait of Gibraltar is a very hor- 
net's nest. Many ships have been sunk almost 
within sight of the famous rock itself. 

Rumor of an armed escort sent out to meet us 
began to go the rounds. How such unauthorized 
news first starts aboard ship is a mystery, but it 
is a fact that underground news is always out 
first and is almost always reliable. 

About 2 o'clock from out the haze off our port 
bow suddenly appeared a smudge of black 
smoke. All hands off watch rushed forward — to 
get seats in the front row. Many wagers were 
laid as to the identity and business of the 
stranger. 

The officers on the bridge, constantly training 
their glasses on the approaching ship, now 
seemed to lose all interest. From the signal 
halyards broke out a string of flags. It was 
fully an hour before the oncoming ship could be 
made out by the naked eye. 

Then it was evident she was indeed a friend, 
a converted yacht, armed fore and aft. From 
her mainmast flew the royal naval flag of 



12 TORPEDOED IN 

Britain, a string of signal flags were displayed 
from her foremast, and answered by a similar^ 
string from our own bridge. On her stern, 
ready to be released by the touch of a button, 
rested depth charges. These are set to explode 
by pressure at certain depths. They are the 
most feared and most deadly " remedy' ' that 
can be applied to submerged U-boats. 

With a feeling of relief and a sense of secur- 
ity, we returned to our quarters and various 
stations about the deck. 

Our escort remained constantly near — very 
speedy, now on the port, then starboard side, 
always on the watch for the hated periscope. 

Oct. 2. 

Arrived safely in the harbor of Gibraltar at 
5 A. M. 

"Strong as the Rock of Gibraltar' ' I had 
noted often from the magazine covers; but this 
was my first time to come face to face with 
this giant solemn sentinel, standing there so 
confident, so serene, it seemed almost lifelike, 
guarding the western gateway to the Mediter- 
ranean. From the almost perpendicular sides, 
and from over the rim of the skyline horizon, 
peeped the muzzles of mighty guns, pointing 
hither and yon, challenging all who might ap- 
proach and guaranteeing alike the neutrality of 
the Spanish mainland and the Moroccan coast 
across the straits. 

Standing on the forward deck in the grey 
dawn of an October morning, as we slowly made 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 13 

our way to anchor outside the walled harbor, 
wherein safely ensconced for the night, lay ves- 
sels flying nearly every flag of the universe, it 
occurred to one how fortunate had been the na- 
tion which had so easily secured control of this 
natural fortress, this gateway to the east, to the 
lands whence had come the beginning of all 
things recorded in the histories of civilized 
man; for just such bases as this had enabled a 
little island kingdom to extend her borders and 
to establish vast empires a thousand times 
greater in area than she had even hoped to be, 
and to exert her influence for good or evil to 
the far quarters of the globe. 

Before arriving at Gibraltar we had figured 
out a schedule, and believed providing we could 
get out of the rock without delay and without 
convoy, we ought to make Port Said in twelve 
days. Now that we knew our destination to be 
the Suez Canal, we were anxious to discharge 
the horses in good condition, but we had not 
taken into account the congestion of shipping, 
the official red tape, and last, but not least, the 
activity of the hostile U-boats in the straits 
outside. 

"Informed we would have to wait for convoy ; 
our cargo considered valuable.' ' In the hold 
we had miles of steel pipe greatly desired by the 
military authorities for use of the army advanc- 
ing on Jerusalem. 

We would have to kill a few days' time at the 
rock, every one to his notion. An empty grain 
bag was good for a bunch of white grapes with 



14 TORPEDOED IN 

the bumboat man, providing said transaction 
could be made beyond the "high visibility" of 
honorable mate; also, we were loading many 
eases of condensed milk, and occasionally a case 
of this would fall out of the sling (fifty-fifty), 
scattering cans about the deck. These were 
legitimate spoils if handled rightly, and mixed 
fairly well with the brew the cook was pleased 
to call coffee — same being served twice daily. 
Then there was always the possibility of oozing 
by the dock sentries in an odd moment and go- 
ing ashore; however, to the best of my knowl- 
edge, this never happened. The Rock of Gibral- 
tar is considered kind of private like by the 
British, and the "Welcome, stranger" signs are 
not in evidence, so to speak. 

"Decided to visit an inviting-looking white vil- 
lage over on the Spanish shore; had arranged 
for boat; were to leave at dark. Met a Nor- 
wegian sailor just returned from there, said we 
would be interned, did not go. No shore leave; 
anxious to be on our way." 

"Took on stores — looked as though we were 
getting ready to sail." 

"Two of the foremen assisted the steward 
with stores, something unusual for them — in- 
vited to party in head foreman's cabin; admis- 
sion, ten shillings — lengthy session." 

"Captain returned to ship and shortly sent 
for steward; informed that worthy he was shy 
one case of ' Black and White/ whatever that 
was — even a Chink gets careless occasionally." 

Three Italians in boats docked quite Hear us* 



THE MEDITEERANE AN 15 

One of them had a ragged hole in her side near 
the water line. It appeared that they had gotten 
close in, apparently unknown to the Allied pa- 
trol; said to have been fired on by a French 
and American patrol ship. Result : three killed 
and four injured. 

"Underground wireless announced we were to 
sail at dark in convoy for Malta. 10 P. M. 
slipped silently out of the harbor and well over 
along the coast of Morocco. Passed through the 
straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. 
Unusually dark, — could not see a ship's length; 
trusted to luck and the seventh sense of the 
man on watch." 

Instead of an armed escort, we beheld two 
other cargo ships, such as ourselves; the only 
visible advantage, one of our companions carried 
three guns — seemed to have more speed. 

Along the Spanish coast, well within the three- 
mile limit, now and then we were so close in 
it seemed as though one might step over the rail 
and wade in to one of the tiny white piers that 
dotted the water's edge so frequently. 

Moving lazily through the quiet blue waters 
along the shores of this world-old land, covered 
with vineyards and groves of orange trees, 
dotted with all white villages up to the back- 
ground formed by a purple-hued coastal 1 range, 
one was reminded of our own California coast, 
along Monterey Bay, just out of old Santa 
Cruz, only this seemed ages older. 

Amid these peaceful surroundings, it was hard 
to realize that the world was at war; that men 



16 TOKPEDOED IN 

and communities everywhere, who had lived 
, (Jod-f earing and peaceful lives, had suddenly 
feeen thrust into the business of destroying their 
fellows and demolishing a civilization builded 
by centuries of effort and sacrifice. 

"Off Cape Bon, convoy parted — every one on 
his own, under cover of the night, we turned 
away from the friendly land and headed across 
for the coast of Africa.' ' 

Awakened by the following dialogue: 

Small Boat.-— "What ship?" 
i Bridge. — "Berwick Law/' 

S.B. — ' ' Where you come ? ' ' 

Bridge. — "Newport News." 

Small Boat.— "Where?" 

Bridge.— "Newport News, America." 

Small Boat. — "Oh! Newport News! Nq 
good!" 

Away he went. He would have none of us. 
This was an unusual reception from a pilot, and 
we were at a loss to know the meaning of it; 
however, we had not long to wait, for soon there 
arrived another pilot boat, and over our rail 
scrambled a French bluejacket, who, with a 
cheery salute to all, ascended the bridge and 
piloted us into the harbor of Oran, French North 
Africa. 

Scarcely had the anchor let go when we were 
boarded by a bumboat man with his wares, 
W|hich included most everything from parrots to 
post-cards (bottled goods on the*Q. T.) and what 
not. 
.This versatile gentleman said that some two 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 17 

months previous to our arrival the British ship 
Turcoman had put in there with a crew of Amer- 
ican horsemen aboard. As they were not al- 
lowed shore leave, some twenty-five or thirty 
had gone ashore by way of the stern lines and 
along an old pier not then in use. After trans- 
acting their business ashore, this bunch had duly 
arrived back at the piers to go aboard. Hacf 
they returned to the ship in the manner of 
leaving, no doubt all would have been well, but, 
it appears they insisted on going through the 
gates as Americans and gentlemen should; but 
as they were without proper passes, the "no 1 
can do" of the native guards brought matters 
to a head at once. In the end the horsemen 
did go through the gates, and the guards went 
into the water and the hospital. 

This was a very serious breach of etiquette,, 
and created quite a stir, but was finally com- 
promised by the captain agreeing to anchor out 
in the fairway until ready to sail. 

"Now under the orders of the French admir- 
alty to sail at dark for our next port." 

Up to this time neither of our companions 
of the day before had arrived at Oran. Later, 
in the harbor of Bizerta, we saw one of them; 
the other, a Prince Line boat, was reported miss- 
ing. We never heard of her again. 

"Running only at night. Escorted by French 
destroyers." If we left port before dusk, as 
we sometimes did in order to clear the mine 
fields, we were invariably accompanied by two 
hydroplanes in addition. 



18 TORPEDOED IN 

" Putting in at Algiers, Bona and Bougie, ar- 
rived safely at the French naval base at Bizerta; 
here again met by a naval pilot. After nego- 
tiating the mine channel, filed slowly past the 
splendid town of Bizerta to the inner harbor 
and dropped anchor." 

The horses had been aboard now just thirty 
days, but looked almost as good as the day we 
sailed. True, they had received excellent care — 
had plenty of feed and water. But there is $ 
limit to all things, and we were anxious to get 
in and unload them. Also, we were running 
short of hay, having been unable to secure this 
very necessary item at any of the ports since 
leaving Gibraltar. 

As we did not sail that evening, and there 
were no signs of leaving on the following morn- 
ing, we began to fear another tie-up similar to 
that at Gibraltar, for we were again under the 
British admiralty, and therefore subject to — 
well, orders. 

Nothing palls like inactivity. Some of the 
hoys were considering ways and means of going 
ashore, which did not look very promising, as 
we were anchored in about the center of an old 
lake, and more than a mile from shore in any 
direction. 

Alongside arrived a motor launch flying the 
royal naval standard. On the deck stood a 
British tar ready with a heaving line. We gath- 
ered along the rail to see what they had to offer 
jnst as a young officer appeared and from some- 
where below hailed our deck watch. Said he 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 19 

would make fast alongside if we didn't mind, 
and have tea, then would come aboard to see 
the captain. 

Through underground channels word was 
passed we were to sail for Malta next morning, 
together with the Mexico City and Warclover; 
three cargo ships again, with no escort. 

From the many ships around us the 
" prophets "■ singled out our new comrades to 
see what manner of craft they might be. 

The Mexico dtp, a common tramp, was passed 
up without comment. The Warclover proved to. 
be one of the new standardized steel ships built 
since the war. She was highly camouflaged, and 
was supposed to look like anything but an inno- 
cent cargo ship, and did somewhat resemble a 
light cruiser at a distance. The " prophets "' 
eyed her askance. They had been in convoys 
with her kind before, and had always met up 
with hard luck. 

We had just finished breakfast when the pilot 
boat made the rounds and left with us friend 
sailor, the pilot, who had brought us in. He 
seemed to regard us as old friends and insisted 
on shaking hands around, never forgetting to 
proffer cigarettes and a light. However, he was 
full of business and asked for el capitan. That 
doughty old gentleman was just coming out of 
the chart-room. The pilot unloaded an armload 
of talk and gestures that should have won out 
'most anywhere, but apparently made no hit with 
the captain, for he shook his head negatively. 

" Where is the 'cairpenter'? Has 'anny wan* 



20 TORPEDOED IN 

seen the 'can-penter'?" From some place aft 
came this familiar inquiry, but "Chippy" had 
heard and was scurrying for'ard to the winch 
to hoist anchor before the chief mate could get 
sight of him. 

Preceded by the War clover and Mexico City, 
we had cleared the mine fields and were getting 
under good seaway. 

"Sail two points off starboard bow, sir." 

At a casual glance this appeared to be a fish- 
ing smack. The Mexico City just ahead sud- 
denly showed the danger signal, at the same 
time circling and heading for the harbor we had 
just left. The Warclover on our port bow did 
the same thing, and not to be outdone in this 
maneuver, we followed suit. That sail had dis- 
appeared. There was nothing at all in sight 
where a perfectly good fishing boat had been 
just a few minutes before. Evidently our ac- 
tions had been observed from shore, for out of 
the harbor came racing two scout patrols, and 
two hydroplanes appeared in the sky from some- 
where beyond a ridge of sand dunes and headed 
seaward. We returned to our old berth in the 
inner harbor, which somehow did not look so 
bad, and dropped anchor. 

The all-clear signal again sent us to sea, the 
Berwick Law leading, Mexico City second, War- 
clover third. This was supposed to be a 10-knot 
convoy, and for the first few hours that speed 
was maintained. Early in the evening the War- 
clover dropped astern perhaps ^.ve miles. As 
we were ordered to keep together, the other twa 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 21 

ships circled to allow her to come up in line, but 
it was evident she could not keep the pace. She 
was continually lagging; at dark she was per- 
haps two miles astern. We were running with- 
out lights, except a stern light required in all 
convoys. 

Much to the disgust of the " prophets,' ' the 
Warclover began to flash signals, and continued 
this throughout the fore part of the night. No 
one pretended to understand this action, nor why 
it was permitted. We were in dangerous waters 
and subject to attack any moment. In fact, we 
had been warned that hostile U-boats had been 
sighted near us. 

Soon after midnight the lookout reported fir- 
ing off our port after quarter. Most of the crew 
liad turned in, but were awakened by the noise 
and took stations along the rail to see what was 
going on. 

That the Warclover had been attacked was 
evident; by what sort of foe was hard to deter- 
mine. She was firing rapidly and running away, 
but for every shot she received at least two in 
return, and had been hit by at least two shells. 

The wireless began to get busy, and picked 
up call after call from the stricken vessel. She 
was being shelled by a submarine and was 
greatly damaged. Perhaps two hours had 
elapsed when the seventh call was received, giv- 
ing her course and asking for immediate aid. 
She was now far out to our left and toward the 
coast of Sicily. The reports from the guns 
were dull and distant, the flashes but vague 



$2 TORPEDOED IN 

streaks on the night sky > like distant lightning. 

The last call was picked lip at 3 A. M. incom- 
plete; her wireless had gone down. 

We were going ahead at full speed. As pre- 
viously explained, comrade ships are not allowed 
to give any assistance in an attack like this. 

We had heard nothing from the Mexico City. 
At break of day she showed on the horizon some 
miles astern. 

We were under forced draught and zigzagging 
to beat the band all that day, and arrived at 
St. Paul's Bay, Island of Malta, at 5 P. M. 

This was little more than a slight indent of 
the shore line ; however, it looked better than the 
open sea. We remained until the following 
afternoon, then proceeded around the island and 
anchored in the harbor of Valetta. 

Learned that the Warclover, after making a 
valiant fight, had been sunk by a high-explosive 
shell; sixteen of her crew reported lost. 

It seems as though this ship could have been 
saved. Certainly an armed escort vessel would 
have prevented a submarine from remaining on 
top of the water and firing with impunity. 

It may be that such escort was not available — 
I do not know. At any rate, the Warclover had 
gone to the port of missing ships, the survivors 
landed at some point, perhaps to seek berths on 
other ships, hoping for better luck next voyage. 

The shortage of hay for the horses was be- 
coming serious. At best they would be aboard 
ship another week. So the horse doctor went 
ashore to rustle from the army service corps, 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 23 

and succeeded in getting two bargeloads of near- 
hay. 

In looks, it more resembled hazel brush and 
blackberry vines minus the thorns of the latter, 
but covered with a sort of leaf near the top. 
However, the animals liked it fairly well, and 
we could fool them at feeding time long enough, 
to get away. 

I believe they realized that war was on and 
let it go at that. 

Anyway, the "doc" was given credit for doing* 
his best, which was fair enough; for that, was 
about all he did do on the entire trip so far as 
known. 

It was claimed he had gained his expert 
knowledge of horses and mules by goosing a 
flivver from Tennessee out into Texas when the 
roads were bad. 

The City of Valetta, while a very ancient, 
town, was, we were told, a fair place to visit, 
providing one had a pound or so pocket money. 

Most of the boys had made satisfactory ar- 
rangements (via the underground) to go ashore. 
that night. 

Early in the evening el capitan returned and 
said we would sail in an hour. 

Time proved this assertion to be quite true, 
and about two bells on that same watch we 
pulled the mudhook and moved out in the fair- 
way, joining six tramps, forming a convoy for 
Alexandria and Port Said. 

We were escorted by one destroyer and four 
trawlers. Altogether we made quite an impos- 



24 TORPEDOED IN 

ing array, flanked by the trawlers, the destroyer 
circling and issuing orders like a drill sergeant 
with a sqnad of rookies. 

We were off on the last lap of our outbound 
voyage. 

With good luck we would make Port Said in 
live days. 

Then one more day to get up the ditch and 
discharge the horses. Hooray! We would put 
In for passes and "look over the books' ' in this 
land we had come so far to see. 

Some would go to Suez, some to Cairo, some 
would visit Jerusalem itself; this latter place, 

however, was , for to go there and remain 

any time at all would require a very large 
escort, same to be well armed and equipped. 

The U-boats had been doing a big business in 
these waters lately, especially off the Crete 
Islands, which we were due to pass the following 
<day. 

While somehow there seemed to be a feeling 
<of safety, and that we would arrive at our des-v' 
tination without mishap, every precaution was 
taken to insure this very thing. 

The lookouts were doubled by day, and not so 
much as a match-light was permitted on deck 
at night, although the nights were nearly as 
bright as day, the pale moonlight being even 
more illuminating than the white light on the 
American desert around Indio or Elko. 

I have never seen more beautiful nights at sea, 
but I am sure they were neither appreciated nor 
enjoyed by a single person on the ship. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 25 

From Gibraltar to Malta we had met a num- 
ber of convoys, and in every port had seen many- 
ships. Now it seemed as thongh we were the 
only things afloat on all that broad expanse of 
water, and three days out of Malta we had 
sighted but a single ship, a P. and 0. liner, 
escorted by two destroyers, probably home bound 
from India. 

Following two more days of uneventful sail- 
ing, we sighted the low-lying shores of Egypt. 

Warning had been given to close up and keep 
a sharp lookout for enemy subs. Two hydro- 
planes had arrived and were circling our course 
low down like a fisher seeking a meal. 

Arriving off the net buoys, we fell in single 
file and followed the destroyer through the chan- 
nel into the harbor of Port Said, around the 
end of the long white sea wall, where stands 
the heroic statue of De Lesseps facing the sea 
pointing inland, as though directing the stranger 
to the short-cut through the desert to the Red 
Sea and the mystic lands of those who dwell 
beyond the Suez. 

We expected to go on up the canal to Bitter 
Lake, turn and be back at the point of discharge 
the following morning. In fact, upon arrival, we 
had been equipped with a searchlight, and the 
canal pilot had come aboard, when orders were 
received to remain until further notice. 

The pilot was exchanged for a tugboat, and 
after considerable maneuvering the ship was 
berthed near the mouth of the canal proper. 



26 TORPEDOED IN 

The harbor of Port Said, if anything, is cer- 
tainly cosmopolitan. 

Big ships, little ships, old ships, new ships, 
row after row of them, and just about every 
nation in the world represented there. 

There is a continual procession working out 
and in: war craft, merchant ships, patrols, fish- 
ing boats, and so on. 

Two Japanese cruisers passed through home- 
ward bound from somewhere in the Mediterra- 
nean, every available foot of deck space occu- 
pied by bluejackets standing like statues; not a 
single gesture or answer to the many greetings 
from the crews of other ships. 

Nobody likes a horse boat. Here were we, 
come some eight or ten thousand miles, and now 
when we were ready to turn over our charges 
to some one — any one — there was nothing doing. 

"Where did we come from?" "Did we 'ave 
'orses?" "Well, you cawn't 'elp it, now can 
you, mate?" 

"I would like to see your^ captain," said a 
young officer wearing the insignia of the army 
service corps, to t i Scotty, ' ' one of the apprentice 
boys, standing at the gangway. 

The captain was not on board. Would the 
first officer do? His room was right there, sir. 

"Me savvy hoss," said a short, bronzed gen- 
tleman, with the eyes of the orient and features 
of somewhere else, who had come aboard with 
the Britisher, and reached out to stroke the 
nearest one at hand. By a quick, dexterous 
jump he got out of the way of that one, but the 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 27 

next one landed him and he bounced on down 
the line like a rubber ball, and getting a nip 
about every other jump. After going the length 
of the deck and vaulting over a pile of baled 
hay, the cook herded him into the galley before 
he could jump over the rail into the sea. 

Now, the horses were acquainted with every 
man on the ship, and would not molest a single 
one at any time. But let a stranger start down 
that line, and he had about as much chance as 
a "white horse cellar' ' would have in the Ajo. 
Con. office any Monday morning. 

We had first noticed this at Algiers, where a 
bumboat man had been severely nipped-. 

We had been careful to warn all strangers, 
but on this occasion this seemed to have been 
overlooked. 

Owing to the conflicting orders and apparent 
friction between the various departments, it 
looked as though we were stuck for another day. 
However, towards evening we were cleared 
and ready to proceed to our destination up the 
canal. 

It was a slow and difficult feat for a single 
tugboat to get a big ship, such as ours, past and 
through the many other ships anchored on either 
side of the canal; but we made it without any 
serious damage, and headed up the Suez for our 
final port. 

Out past the yards and station of the Egyp- 
tian State Railway, which parallels the canal as 
far as Ismalia, branching there to Cairo and 
Alexandria and the Nile country. From there 



28 TOBPEDOEDIN 

also the British have constructed an excellent 
double-track system, stretching hundreds of 
miles across the Arabian desert to the fighting 
front in Palestine. Just beyond the borders of 
the city proper, we passed by a Serbian refuge 
camp, row after row of round-peaked tents, 
set up in perfect lines on each side of streets or 
roadways, and reaching back perhaps half a mile 
from the canal bank. 

This canvas city had a large population — 
mostly women and small children, an occasional 
old man wandering around, but no boys and 
girls, as one would expect to see with so many 
different family groups. 

• This famous ditch has played its part in the 
world war, and is entirely devoted to military 
use at this writing. 

As I understand it, the Companie Suez is 
wholly owned by the French and British. The 
former Khedive of Egypt was heavily interested 
prior to the war; but his stock was purchased 
by the British government during 1916, when 
the Turks came across the desert in the at- 
tempted conquest of Egypt. They did succeed 
in crossing the canal near Kantara, and their 
legions were encamped for miles on either side. 
French and English destroyers and gunboats 
from Port Said and Suez gave them such a hot 
reception that the project was abandoned. 

The German commander evidently planned on 
gaining and holding a fresh-water base just 
across the canal, or perhaps on the Nile. 

The hundreds of graves of Turkish soldiers 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 29 

strewn along both banks of the canal aronnd 
Kantara are the only visible reminders of this 
nearly successful venture. 

"This was the day for which we had waited 
so long." 

Every single man was early astir. The dawn 
iiad scarcely spread over the white sands before 
the entire land was flooded by the brilliant white 
rays of a desert sun. 

This was surely the east; the very atmos- 
phere somehow portrayed to the stranger a 
strange land. 

We were proceeding very slowly. On every 
ihand was the evidence of the great struggle. 
Camel trains were loading supplies for isolated 
'detachments of British soldiers stationed some- 
where out on the great desert. 

We had been expected at Kantara at day- 
break, and when we finally arrived alongside the 
temporary piers, there we found everything in 
readiness to discharge the horses. 

Several companies of Arabs and Egyptians 
were waiting the word to go aboard. 

These men were clothed in a brownish uni- 
form consisting of blouse and trousers, and 
somewhat resembled native soldiers. They be- 
longed to the Egyptian Labor Corps, an organi- 
zation of which we will learn more later on. 

I had noticed a small boat trailing along with 
us from Port Said, with two natives of some un- 
known land aboard, and wondered what part of 
the game they played, until I saw them heading 



SO TORPEDOED IN 

in to the shore with the lines. They had come 
along for that purpose, and remained with us 
until we returned to Port Said. This was sure 
some soft job. 

The port officials gave us the "once-over," 
and finding everything 0. K., we were relieved 
of our charges, the horses, much to the relief 
of all. 

The unloading started at once, and so did the 
fun. 

The labor corps men came aboard in compa- 
nies, and were distributed about as follows: 

Three or four to untie the halter rope of each 
horse, about two or three to pass the rope along 
to the next bunch, and so on until the gangway 
was reached. There they were compelled to 
come out in the open and lead the animals down 
the gangway and out to a picket line. 

Although the horses were eager to land, they 
had not forgotten their animosity toward stran- 
gers, and would nip or kick a "spiggoty" at 
every occasion. 

When this happened Mr. Spiggoty went right 
on away from there, regardless of whether he 
went over another man or overboard. 

A passageway from the foot of gangway to 
the picket lin^ was made by placing natives four 
deep on either side. This held fairly well until 
a "bad one" landed, when they faded away like 
"wabblies" before a recruiting officer. 

Some of the men were severely injured and 
were carried away on stretchers. 

The last horse was unloaded early in the morn- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 31 

ing. Not a single horse had been lost or injured 
during the voyage from the United States. 

Our work was done, and we felt as though it 
had been done well; for seldom, if ever, had a 
cargo of horses been landed in such good con- 
dition. 

Now for shore leave. Four of us went up to 
interview Captain Henderson about this, and to 
find out when we could go and how long we 
could stay. 

We were informed that no one would be per- 
mitted to leave the ship as long as she remained 
in the canal, and a detachment of soldiers were 
placed aboard to enforce these orders. The port 
captain said that on account of so many spies 
being found in Egypt, the authorities at Cairo 
had cut off all shore liberty for crews of mer- 
chant ships. 

We tried every way we knew to have this 
order rescinded, or to have an exception made 
in our case, for we were all Americans, and we 
were Allies, that ought to help; but there was 
nothing doing. You can't make a Britisher see 
anything but his side of the thing. 

Right there we decided to do a little business 
on our own hook, and decided that we would go 
ashore in every port we put into on the return 
voyage; and as we shall see later, we did to a 
certain extent, do this whenever we wished. 

The main thing now was the cargo of pipe, 
and work was started on that the following 
morning. 

The Egyptian labor corps, or stevedores, are 



32 TORPEDOED IN 

recruited from all over the east. They are 
signed up for a period of three to six months, 
and are paid one shilling for each day of twelve 
or fourteen hours; are furnished tents to sleep 
in and are given some food, not much, although 
I was told by both officers and civilians that it 
was more than they had when not working. 

To describe the conditions under which these 
people labor, and the treatment they receive 
from some of the white men over them, would 
in itself make quite a volume, and, in the main, 
will not be touched on here. While the men are 
not enlisted, they are treated as a semi-military 
organization, wearing uniform clothing, and are 
directly under the officers and non-commissioned 
officers of the British forces. 

Then comes the native boss or foreman. 
Every boss carries as his badge of authority 
either a cane or whip, and believe me, they do 
not fail to use these. 

Often to excess, I have s.een men whipped for 
no apparent cause whatever, but simply because 
the foreman felt that way. 

The food given to these men was mostly rice, 
cooked up in a big kettle and dished out in 
empty oil cans. As many as possible would 
gather around these cans and dig in with their 
hands. It was generally a scramble at noon 
time, and the ones fortunate enough to get close 
in to the cans, as a rule got most of the chow. 

Bread was issued each day and to each man, 
a round loaf of black war bread being the ration 
for the day. I could not determine of what this 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 33 

bread was made, but it certainly contained very 
little, if any, wheat flour. 

The natives are always hungry. They are 
good workers and work long hours. 

Soon after our arrival in the canal we received 
a quantity of camel meat in lieu of beef, of 
which there was no available issue. 

Now you may not like mutton or corned beef, 
and I have known men to turn sick at the men- 
tion of tripe as food, but if there is an American 
anywhere that can eat camel meat right off the 
reel, I have yet to see him. 

In our mess of five we always had this meat 
left over. At first the peggy used to dump it 
overboard along with the rest of the swill, but 
as soon as the "gypos" noticed this they begged 
for the stuff, which was afterward always saved 
for them. 

We had our own galley and cooks. The ship's 
©ooks were chinks. They would not give even the 
swill to the natives, but preferred to dump it 
over in the canal. 

I have seen men run and grab a handful of 
this as it went over the side. 

Some of the English officers are considerate 
of, and look to the welfare of the men, as the 
following incident will relate: 

The day shift frequently worked on up to 
nine or ten o'clock, working under the night 
officers. 

Some of the native Egyptians go blind as a 
bat after sundown, and of course can't do any 
work while in this condition. One evening a 



34 TOKPEDOEDIN 

larger number than usual were afflicted this way, 
and the officer in charge was very angry about 
it. 

He rushed along the deck and grabbed an old 
fellow who had lain down, shaking him, declar- 
ing that he was shamming. He called a corporal 
and the corporal raised him to his feet, but he 
was limp as a rag. This riled the officer and he 
would have taken more severe action if another 
officer had not appeared on the scene. 

This man was an old-timer; had served in 
Egypt, Africa and India, and could speak most 
of the lingos of the east. 

At a glance he knew the native was very sick. 
He issued orders rapidly to the natives. The 
old man was placed in an easy position, his head 
bathed and two of the men sent for medicine 
and a stretcher. 

However, before they had returned with the 
stretcher or medicine, the old man had "cashed 
in" there on the deck. 

The officer certainly did give the night men 
some good advice relative to fools and human 
beings. 

This man was a line officer and was ordered 
"up the line" the following day. He was well 
liked by every one and could get more work out 
of the "gypos" than any of the others. 

Since we had unloaded the horses, and were 
unable to secure passes or shore leave up to now, 
we had nothing to do but kill time and watch 
the passing ships to and from the railroad 
terminus from the front. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 35 

Every day, and often twice daily, the Anglo- 
American Co. 's Nile boats would pass by, loaded 
with wounded men returning from the Palestine 
front. The British were then advancing toward 
Gaza and Jerusalem, and the casualties were 
i heavy. 

The guard detailed to the ship "daily were all 
convalescents. Most of them had been wounded, 
had been shipped to the canal to recuperate and 
would return "up the line" as soon as able to 
fight again. 

Some of these men had been in service since 
1914, and had fought in France, Flanders, Meso- 
potamia, and now in Palestine. They belonged 
to the Irish Tenth Division. I believe General 
Hill was the commander. 

The "guardhouse" was just outside our quar-> 
ters. Our peggy, "Shorty" Chamley, was quite 
a mixer with the soldiers, and was always on 
hand to receive the new guard, and to be prop- 
erly put in right by the old guard. 

As a result of this intimacy he had a fine col- 
lection of souvenirs, brassards and ornaments of 
different regiments, including English, Irish, 
Scotch, Turks and Germans, in addition to many 
relics from the battlefield. 

This would have been an interesting and val- 
uable collection in the States, but like 'most 
everything else, was lost off the Algerian coast 
when the ship went down some time later. 

A trainload of Turkish prisoners arrived and 
were herded along the canal. Gaza had been 
taken, and the fighting was intense. 



36 TORPEDOED IN 

Most of our old friends of the guard had re- 
ceived orders to go " up the line. ' ' Some of them 
would never return. Some had been away from 
their homes and families over two years, but 
there was no complaint. They felt as though the 
job had to be done, and were willing and ready 
to do their share. 

They were certainly a fine bunch of men — sea- 
soned campaigners. They would surely give a 
good account of themselves anywhere. 

Kantara, Nov. 4. 

"This date was devoted principally to letter- 
writing." 

The captain had secured permission from the 
military authorities to make a visit to Cairo to 
secure " medical' ' attention, and would take let- 
ters for any one who desired to write home. 

Some of the boys had written from Gibraltar, 
and had found that a letter, to get by the censor, 
must deal in neither places nor dates, nor any- 
thing else pertaining to the war, while post-cards 
were absolutely tabooed. 

The regulations were strict and rigidly en- 
forced. Nevertheless, the enemy seemed to get 
information from within the lines right along. 
In a polyglot population like that of Egypt, it 
is hard to determine who's who. 

After we had left Malta, we received orders 
from the convoy commander to throw nothing 
over the side. 

The least trail of hay floating on the water 
will give the cruise away to any U-boat that hap- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 37 

pens along, and the news is flashed to other 
U-boats, which means that some ships will go 
down. 

Consequently, on arrival at Kantara there was 
several days' muck in the stalls. 

This was pitted near the ports ready to load 
into barges. However, for several days these 
could not be secured. 

It was our work to get the horse decks 
cleaned up and whitewashed ready for the next 
voyage. When this was done we would be 
through and could take it easy back to the 
States. 

After Captain Henderson had left for Cairo, 
Chief Officer Stafford was left in charge. He 
was never satisfied apparently, unless everybody 
was busy. 

It did not make much difference whether any- 
thing was accomplished or not; as long as the 
men were on the move everything was all right. 

Now this soon gets your goat. If there is a 
job to do, most men want to go ahead and finish 
up without dallying around, as we were doing 
those first few days in the canal. 

Barges for the muck were placed alongside 
Saturday evening about 4 o'clock, with instruc- 
tions to remove them at dark, the canal being 
too narrow to allow ships to pass while they 
were in place. 

Orders were issued to turn to and clear the 
decks, but there was nothing doing. The men 
had been knocking around at odd jobs, all week, 



38 TORPEDOED IN* 

doing work that was not theirs at that, and 
decided it was time to call a halt. 

The chief officer was greatly perturbed, and 
threatened severe action if the men did not turn 
to, but the men stood pat. 

Then the head foreman came along with an- 
other proposition : If the men would turn to and 
stay on the job until the work was finished they 
would be given one day off. This, however, did 
not make any hit, and was not accepted. 

The men had decided to see the thing through, 
and returned to their quarters. 

When Captain Henderson returned and learned 
of the " ruckus/ ' all hands were ordered up to 
the bridge. 

The captain was very angry, and also was 
greatly excited. He said we had done a very 
serious thing, "very serious, 7 ' and something 
that he had never heard of during his entire 
career of thirty years at sea. It was mutiny, he 
said, and in wartime, was much worse. After 
he had finished, two of the men, Dave Lewis 
and Jack Keegan, came forward to give their 
side of the story. 

They told of the "petty" work of the mate, 
of short rations, of no fresh meat for days and 
days, of a shortage of other food; items of 
food, of bad water, and many other little things 
that had been overlooked and no complaint had 
been made. 

The captain said the Government of Great 
Britain stood behind him; said he would have 
every d — d man logged and arrested. He was 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 39 

shaking his finger in the faces of the men who 
were near him. 

At this juncture both Keegan and Lewis got 
busy; both were shaking their fingers in the 
captain's face. They told him they, too, had a 
government behind them, and she would back 
them up. They said they were in the right and 
that the captain knew they were, and for him 
to go ahead and do whatever he thought he 
could do. They then turned and left the bridge. 
Apparently the bout had ended in a draw. 

Since Gaza had been captured, the fighting at 
the front seemed to be more intense. Trains 
from there were coming in daily with wounded 
men for the hospital ships for Port Said and- 
Malta. 

All available men had been hurried "up the 
line." 

Two troopships passed through with French 
colonials aboard. 

The Sultan's "white train' ' on the Egyptian 
State Railways, passed through from Cairo to 
Port Said. 

Kantara, Nov. 9. 

Another red-letter date. 

The remaining cargo had been discharged, and 
every single "gypo" had been chased off the 
ship. 

A hundred million gallons of salt water, per- 
haps, had been flushed over the decks; every- 
thing was shipshape; the pilot was on board. 



40 TORPEDOED IN 

The " feather' ' swirling out from the funnel 
denoted a full head of steam. 

At 1 P. M., after a stay of fourteen days, we 
eased away from the temporary piers there on 
the banks of the Suez and headed back to our 
homeland, the U. S. A. 

We realized fully what we were up against. 
Our chances for meeting up with ".Sweet Wil- 
liam" were good, which would be all right. Our 
work was done and we had nothing to do but to 
"cuss" the cook and his camel meat. 

After a four-hour trip down the canal, we 
liauled up at Port Said and docked alongside an 
old hulk that looked as though it had seen ser- 
vice with Noah. 

This was used as a prison ship, and was filled 
with Turks and other riff-raff of the far east, 
gathered in by the British during the war. 

Captain Henderson could have issued passes 
to the men had he desired. They were certainly 
entitled to shore leave after the long siege out- 
bound. However, he declined to do this ; in fact, 
he would not give passes to his own officers, and 
they were compelled to remain aboard ship. 

Not so, however, with the horsemen. 

When darkness set in they got in touch with 
the boatmen and went ashore in a bunch. 

At the custom house where all hands mustered 
to pass the guard and turn in passes, it looked 
as though the game was crabbed. Luck was 
with the men, however, in the form of an Egyp- 
tian officer, who, after hearing their hard luck 
story, passed them through the gates upon their 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 41 

promise to return before six o'clock the follow- 
ing morning. 

Shortly after docking I was told that beer 
could be had at Navy House, a service club just 
across from where we were docked, and had 
arranged with a bumboat man to have a boat 
alongside at eight o'clock. 

The only obstacles to overcome were the police 
patrol in the harbor, and that of being run down 
by some craft. We were, of course, without light 
of any kind. 

That beer sounded good, and was surely worth 
taking a chance. 

Red Nifong and I rescued a small boat which 
we found in charge of a fourteen-year-old boy, 
and in which we made the run over; We were 
held up twice by the harbor patrol, but our boy 
outtalked them, with the aid of a few extra 
shillings. 

We landed at the main entrance to the club, 
among a number of other boats in similar ser- 
vice. These, however, were all filled by men in 
uniform. Not a single civilian in sight any- 
where. This was evidently no place for us. 

It was too late to retreat now, so I left Red 
in the boat and , went on a scouting expedition. 

I had passed the sentry and turned in toward 
the top room when I was hailed by one of the 
"gypo" officers. 

"Do you belong to the service?" 

: 'Yes, sir." 

"To what branch of the service?" 

"To the mule navy, sir, and yonder is my 



42 TOBPEDOEDIN 

ship," I replied, pointing to the Berwick Law 
across the canal. 

This was a new one and required some con- 
sideration. 

I conld see that "friend officer' y was in doubt 
as to whether I had any right there, at the same 
time he was inclined to give me the benefit of the 
doubt. 

"Who is your friend there V 9 

"That is Eed Nifong." 

"Does he, too, belong to your — to the mule, 
also?" 

"Yes, sir. Eed is a charter member of that 
organization.' ' 

The officer made no further comment, but 
passed on toward the end of the pier and we 
passed in, entering a room where hundreds of 
sailors were seated at tables enjoying creamy 
ale and bunches of shrimp and fried fish. 

We were the only civilians in the room, but 
were served with everything ordered and treated 
with courtesy by all the attendants. 

The following evening I made another trip 
with head foreman and Joe Denison. Scarcely 
had we landed when we were hailed by a British 
petty officer. 

"What the bloody h— 1 are you chaps doing 
here? What do you belong to?" 

"To the merchant marine, you swab," said 
Denison. 

"No one allowed here but sailors, and you 
will be off before I call the guard and have you 
in cluck," said the petty officer. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 43 

That ended the argument as far as we were 
concerned. 

We returned to the ship and directed our shore 
parties to other channels. 

The tanker Eburon limped into port. She had 
been torpedoed just outside the mine fields; was 
struck forward and had a gaping, ragged hole in 
her hull large enough to admit a freight train. 
Her bulkheads had held up long enough to get in 
to port. 

"Orders received from the embarkation officer 
to prepare for a crew of horsemen to arrive 
next day from Cairo/ ' 

They were to go back to the U. S. with us. 

Captain Henderson said he had no room, and 
under no consideration would more horsemen be 
received as passengers. 

"Carpenters from shore aboard and built 
bunks and a mess-room on second deck;." 

"Mattresses, blankets, etc., received from army 
service corps." 

Jimmie Morrison, an old-time cattleman, ar- 
rived with his crew of Canadians from Montreal. 
They had left their ship at Alexandria. She 
was making a trip to India. With them was 
Charley Smith, an American veterinary surgeon. 

Returned from last trip ashore. Port Said is 
in total darkness at night. No lights of any 
kind are allowed. Not only is the city subject 
to air raids, but has been bombarded from the 
sea. The only way we could get anywhere with- 
out guides was to feel along the walls for doors 
and corners. 



44 TORPEDOED IN 

Some place I have heard it said that there are 
no ten commandments, which may be true, but I 
will guarantee that they have almost everything' 
else to offer out there along the Suez. Aye, in 
abundance. 

; ' Port Said, Nov. 15. 

"Sailed in convoy at 1:30 P. M. for Alexan- 
dria/ ' 

With thirteen cargo ships, escorted by two 
destroyers and two trawlers, we cleared the 
channel and breasted the blue Mediterranean for 
the short run to the mouth of the Nile. 

The following evening we arrived and an- 
chored in the harbor of Alexandria. 

Evidently the ship chandlers knew we were 
out of stores. 

Out of the entire fleet of tramps that arrived 
with us, we were the only ship to receive the 
attention of the industrious citizens. 

Boats by the score circled and jockeyed for 
position when the gangplank was lowered. 

Some of the agents could speak English, and 
'some had interpreters with them, and all were 
eager to get the business. 

One, a young native more enterprising than 
the rest, found the captain and filled his orders 
for the following: 

War flour, a dark, rough mixture, $110 per 
ton. 

This made coarse, black bread, neither nutri- 
tious nor palatable. 

Potatoes, $100 per ton, and not over good at 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 45 

that. Barley enough to take us into Algiers was 
taken aboard, for there we would be able to get 
supplies from the Spanish markets. 

With our same convoy we sailed from Alex- 
andria at 4 P. M. 

The following four days were without inci- 
dent, although the wireless picked up calls from 
somewhere in the Mediterranean every day; 
some days as many as five and six calls were 
received. 

Five ships detached from convoy and escorted 
into Malta for bunkers. Remainder of convoy 
arrived in Bizerta without incident. We an- 
chored in our old berth in the inner harbor just 
five weeks after we had left in company with 
the Warclover. 

Bona and Bougie, French North Africa, our 
next ports, are, I believe, the most picturesque 
towns along the lower Mediterranean, with a 
semi-tropical climate. The low coastal range is 
ever green; the quaint land-locked harbors, the 
rows of clean white houses, with here and there 
a gray-white church nestled back on some rocky 
point, all make an appealing picture. 

Algiers, Dec. 1st. 

This, our second day in port, was put in by 
most of the crew taking shore leave. 

A very good underground route had been es- 
tablished the preceding evening. While it was 
necessary to have a permit of some kind to pass 
through the gates and across the railway tracks,, 
almost any kind of pass was good. 



46 TORPEDOED IN 

I believe that United Cigar Stores coupons 
were more readily accepted; however, any kind 
of paper with a signature of some kind was 
O. K 

The City of Algiers is some town, with a 
population of several hundred thousand. 

A party of three: Jimmie Morrison, Red 
Nifong and myself, upon arrival, had broken a 
trail ashore. At times we were compelled to 
camouflage quite a bit, but nevertheless we 
landed right side up at the Grand Colonial Cafe, 
Angle des Rues de la Liberte and square Brisson, 
somewhat discouraged but still in the game. 

We proposed to look over the books of this 
village and see just what they had to offer. 
The first thing was the question of finance. 
I had in my possession a few shillings, Jimmie 
Morrison had a few more, but Red, oh, with 
Red it was different. Red had a large bundle of 
English one-pound notes. Somehow money 
seemed to stick to Red. Ever since we had left 
the States he had been accumulating one way 
and another. "While we were lying at Gibraltar 
every night we had a session of the national 
game, using California lima beans for chips. 
Reel was the lead hand in this work at first. 
'Most everybody used to drop in "just to pass 
away the time" and whatever else they pos- 
sessed. 

The fourth engineer and the horse doctor were 
the best producers, and never failed to be in at 
the rollcall. As previously stated, Red was 
easily the star in these sessions, and had cor- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 47 

railed about all the money on the ship before we 
left the rock. 

There were other ways of getting a stray 
pound or so, which were not overlooked by the 
boys, and this eventually went into Red's roll. 

At Malta Red had traded two cans of milk to 
some old harbor pirate for an old, dilapidated, 
one-eyed, red-headed parrot. This "bird" was 
about the meanest and toughest specimen of its 
kind I think ever caged. We had two cats on 
the ship. One of them, "Nigger," a big black 
torn, was "himself" a tough "hombre," and was 
"roarin' to go," but after the first encounter 
with "Bomboy" you couldn't get him within 
fifty feet of that feathered imp. 

"While we were lying in the canal a British 
officer took a fancy to "Bomboy" and gave Red 
two pounds for him, and he was worth it. Not 
only was he a fighter, but he could sing a little, 
could cuss like a cavalryman, and would drink 
rum and chew tobacco. 

The Grand Cafe Bar Colonial is certainly 
some place at night. 

Inside at the long bar where we stopped to 
have Red's English money exchanged for French 
notes, we found that the white-coated gentlemen 
there could speak just about any language used 
anywhere on earth. 

A Frenchman, noting our (Red's)' English 
money, joined us and remarked to Jimmie: 
"You are Anglais?" "No, Americanos," replied 
Jimmie. "Oh! TAmericaine ! " the Frenchman 
shouted to every one in general. 



48 TOEPEDOED IN 

We were the center of attraction. We could 
not spend a single centime nor have an empty 
glass anywhere within reach. 

It was just a little cool, that is for that land, 
and everybody seemed to be indoors. 

For us, however, who had been used to fresh 
sea air, the interior of the Colonial soon became 
too close, and we gathered up a table and some 
chairs and moved out on the sidewalk. 

For the first quarter hour we were the only 
party there, but other tables began to appear 
soon, and before we left there, not only was the 
sidewalk filled, but the entire street and opposite 
walk was crowded with a mixture of humans out 
for a good sociable hour or two. 

Here were soldiers and civilians, business men 
and beggars, Frenchmen, Arabs, Englishmen, 
Moors, Spaniards, Greeks, Italians, three Ameri- 
cans and perhaps also a few Germans, all to- 
gether and each enjoying the evening in his own 
way. 

A native orchestra had drifted in from some- 
where and livened up things with their weird 
airs and instruments. 

Our French friend had not forgotten to re- 
mind the crowd of the Americaines, and we en- 
joyed a very pleasant two hours there with that 
care-free throng. As we had come ashore with 
the intention of taking in the sights, we bade 
our friends good-by at the Colonial and pro- 
ceeded on our way into other quarters of the 
city. 
At a tobacco shop, where we had dropped in 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 49 

for a smoke, a young Arab, noticing the Ameri- 
can flag in my lapel, came up to us, "Me Amer- 
ican Consul — office," he said. This statement 
being confirmed by the man behind the counter, 
we concluded to invite the American Consul 
office to join us as official guide. By name, 
Hassen Ben Turki, he was one in a thousand. 

Not only was he to be admired for his good 
drinking qualities, but what he didn't know 
about the City of Algiers, surface and under- 
ground, could be engraved on the head of a pin. 

In the course of the night we drifted down 
through every quarter, and mixed with all classes 
and kinds of people. 

Down in the Arab quarter we drank with the 
fierce-looking Bedouins who belonged on the 
desert, and with an old Moorish chieftain now 
and then, of which but few remain. 

We mixed freely with the high and the low, 
with honest folks and other folks. As a rule we 
travelled together, but at times we were sepa- 
rated, even "Ben Turkey" lost his way out of 
one or two places. We did not take a single pre- 
caution, but no one was in any way molested, 
and when we brought up at the American con- 
sulate we all agreed that we had passed a pleas- 
ant evening, and arranged to meet Mr. "Ben 
Turkey" the next evening, same time and place. 

On our way to the waterfront we met one of 
the bumboat men and a pilot. They asked us 
"in," an invitation gladly accepted, for we had 
walked several good long blocks. The pilot said 
that thirty-five ships had been torpedoed in the 



50 TOEPEDOED IN 

Mediterranean that week, and that U-boats were 
thick as bees in a field of clover. 

This did not sound at all good. However, we 
did not credit all of it, but from our own obser- 
vations, and the information from sailors and 
torpedoed crews at Marseilles a few days later 3 
it is just possible that the pilot was correct. 

On the waterfront we could not locate a single 
small boat to take us back to the ship. 

As it was quite necessary we should return 
before daybreak, we concluded to borrow a small- 
sized barge moored alongside an old pier. 

On boarding this we found an old Arab hud- 
dled up in one corner under an old straw blanket 
in sound repose. 

In the best Spanish we could muster we in- 
formed this brother of our desire to go out to 
a certain ship, and "explained that it would be 
to his advantage, etc., if he would take us there 
in his barge. He was "malo" and could not go; 
although he was our friend still, he was so ill 
that he would die if disturbed at that hour. 

Now Jimmie Morrison in our rounds had pur- 
chased a square bottle labeled with a big red 
rooster and inscribed thus: "Red Rooster Gin; 
makes everybody crow." 

This was recommended as good medicine. The 
old fellow downed about one-fourth of the bot- 
tle without batting an eye. Gasping and sputter- 
ing, he jumped up, untied the lines and poled us 
out to the ship without further argument. 

I am sure this old gentleman had never tasted 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 51 

anything with as much kick to it as that red 
rooster had. He declined a second drink. 

Passing along the deck toward onr cabin I had 
the misfortune to slip and fall, striking a sharp 
plate on the corner of a winch and injuring a 
rib. This stopped my shore trips and also 
proved to be very annoying during the events 
of the following four days. 

Sunday, Bee. 2. 

With the exception of Gibraltar, where we 
would take on bunkers, this was our last port of 
call before heading across the western ocean for 
the United States. 

Stores had been received the previous day. 
The fresh-water tanks had been replenished and 
everything made ready to sail, as soon as the 
outside waters were reported clear and safe. 

Lately the Chinese firemen and trimmers had 
been giving lots of trouble. They either could 
not or would not keep steam enough to make the 
maximum speed, and this was the most danger- 
ous section of the African Coast in regard to 
submarines. 

Captain Henderson had the entire fire crew on 
the bridge, and threatened to have them jailed 
at Gibraltar if they did not keep steam up, as 
required. He explained the danger from torpe- 
does, but the Chinks didn't seem to be bothered 
any about that. 

We sailed from Algiers at about 10 A. M. 

The pilot warned the captain of the presence 



52 TORPEDOED IN 

of U-boats and advised against leaving port at 
that time. 

We were the only ship ont of the convoy from 
Alexandria and Bizerta which left. 

Our course was close in. All day we were 
within a very few miles of the Algerian coast. 
"We did not sight a single ship, but early in the 
afternoon we passed great patches of wreckage, 
— bundles of new lumber, hatch covers, a ship's 
ladder, and a pair of stairs drifted by; farther 
along was a chair and the remnants of a locker 
of some kind. 

It was very evident that some ship had been 
destroyed there, but just when, was another 
question. If the wireless had picked up any 
calls during the day we never heard anything 
about it. 

At 7.30 P. M. we passed close in past a head- 
land, where a lighthouse, perched on the extreme 
tip of land, seemed to be giving flash signals 
seaward, whether to our ship or some other I 
do not know. At any rate, the ship did not sig- 
nal in reply. 

An extra night watch had been put on, leaving 
Port Said. His orders were to stand by in case 
of attack at night, and to see that all men were 
awake. 

The semi-tropical nights off the African coast 
were conducive to long hours of rest. Usually 
the entire crew off watch turned in before nine 
o'clock. 

In our cabin everybody had turned in early. 
It seemed as though I had just fallen asleep 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 53 

' when I was awakened by a terrific explosion, 
followed by the most vagne and barren quiet I 
have ever experienced. 

The cabin lights flashed on for just an instant 
and died out gradually, leaving the room in 
darkness. 

It was not at all necessary to ask what had - 
happened. We realized instantly that we had 
been torpedoed. 

There were five men sleeping in our cabin and 
every man was up and going in just about one 
second after the explosion. 

There was more or less confusion, of course. 
Therefore I am going to relate my own experi- 
ence and actions, and those with whom I came 
in contact immediately after the explosion. 
' ' Where the devil is my shoe?" 
"To h — with your shoe! Give me air! — air is 
what I want, men, ' ' and with an armload of 
clothing Joe Smith, made a flying leap and 
jammed into Jimmie Morrison, going through 
the door with one shoe. 

Eed Nifong was the next to leave, followed 
closely by Charley Dowd, who stopped at my 
berth and asked if I was all right — if I could 
make it without assistance. 

On account of my injured rib I was slow in 
getting dressed. I thought every one had left 
the ship. I could not hear the slightest sound 
anywhere. 

When I got out on deck, everybody had gone 
to the lifeboats. 
I belonged in No. 5 boat, aft, on the starboard 



54 TORPEDOED IN 

side, and got back there just in time to see it 
drift away from the ship, and only partially 
filled. 

About fifteen men belonging in that boat were 
left. They immediately scattered to the other 
boats. 

One of the men in the drifting boat called out : 
"Jump overboard and we will pick you up.' ? 
(I think it was Charnley.) 

I went over to the port side and found a coil 
of rope, which I trailed over the side, thinking 
they might pick it upland pull their boat up to 
the ship. 

No. 4 boat was filled to capacity and was just 
casting loose and making away from the side. 

I went forward to the midship port boat, to 
find that also filled and ready to leave. 

I next tried the port boat, and got over there 
in time to see it swamped in lowering. 

The chances of getting in a lifeboat were get- 
ting slim. 

There was but one big boat left, and that was 
jammed full of Chinese. 

I decided to go back to the cabin and put on 
some more clothing. With the aid of matches I 
dug out a pair of trousers and a coat, but could 
not find a shirt of any kind. Everything in the 
cabin was topsy-turvy. The torpedo had explod- 
ed in the 'midships bunker, just beneath our 
cabin. Two of the bunks, Dowd's and Red's, 
were torn up and filled with coal dust. The 
whole room was a wreck. However/ no one was 
seriously injured there. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 55 

Returning to the deck, I concluded the best 
thing to do was to find something that would 
float and go over the side. 

I could not get hold of anything suitable that 
I could handle alone. I cut the lashings on an 
extra gangway that was stowed on the super- 
structure, thinking to get this when the ship 
went down. 

I went on back to the gun deck, but did not 
encounter any one. Returning forward on the 
port side I met Wong Chong, one of the trim- 
mers, headed the other way. It occurred to me 
that the Chinamen Jiad all left the ship. I won- 
dered what Wong was doing there. I thought 
he was going to speak to me, but he did not 
stop. 

Just outside the galley door I ran into Char- 
ley Smith, the veterinary surgeon from Mont- 
real. He was walking round in a circle and 
moaning. I asked him if I could help him. He 
said: 

1 ' Where is my room? If I can only get my 
vest I will be satisfied." 

I assisted him along the deck to his cabin. 
This was absolutely demolished, literally blown 
to splinters. 

The torpedo had struck just below and a few 
feet forward of his cabin. How he ever escaped 
with his life is a mystery. I learned later that 
he was asleep at the time of the explosion. The 
first thing he knew he was lying on the deck out- 
side. 
I had been under the impression that all of 



56 TORPEDOED IN 

the big boats bad left the ship, but learned that 
one was there and ready to leave. Smith went 
down a line to that, and I went on forward. 

I met Captain Henderson, who said to go for- 
ward and launch one of the small boats, located 
on the bridge deck. Previously it was not the 
intention to use this boat, but it was now neces- 
sary, as two boats had been lost. 

There I met Second Mate Stark and Seaman 
Eowland. We were afterward joined by Fisher 
and Captain Henderson, and together we got the 
boat lowered and launched. More men had come 
along by now and in all we numbered eleven 
when we got away from the ship. 

It had been about twenty minutes since the 
torpedo hit, and while the ship had settled well 
down, it showed no signs of sinking at once. We 
were anxious to get away, as another torpedo 
might come at any moment. 

Captain Henderson, Stark and Fisher went 
over to the captain's boat, which had been 
launched, and pulled away. 

We pulled away from the ship at 10.32, just 
twenty-two minutes after being torpedoed, and 
I believe were the last boat to leave. 

The torpedo had been fired from the port side, 
and most of the boats had been launched from 
that side. 

We had left from the starboard side, and be- 
lieved if we dropped well astern and headed for 
the Algerian coast we stood a good chance of 
missing the "submarine. 



THE MEDITEKKANEAN 57 

In the pale moonlight we would not be visible 
at a distance greater than one hundred yards. 

We had gone perhaps two hundred yards from 
the ship, were headed shoreward, and thought 
we were all 0. K. 

Suddenly right in front of us we saw a sub- 
marine. She was lying there in the wake of the 
moon, with never a motion and not a man visi- 
ble on her decks. 

We changed our course at once. We were 
still headed toward the coast, but at an angle of 
about forty-five degrees. 

Shortly afterward we came up with two other 
boats, those of the captain and the chief en- 
gineer, all headed in the same general direction. 
Just then, and about fifty yards dead ahead, 
there arose to the surface the largest submarine 
I had ever seen. I am sure she was more than 
three hundred feet in length. She had two con- 
ning towers, a wireless outfit, and carried two 
guns on her deck. 

The men at the oars had been working hard, 
but now gave up in disgust. What was the use? 
From somewhere on the U-boat several men 
emerged and took stations along the deck. They 
were Urmed with rifles and automatic revolvers. 
"Boat ahoy!" came a voice from the U-boat, 
in clear, sharp English. 

"Aye, aye, sir," replied a sailor. 
"Where is your captain?" 
"I am the captain," replied Captain Hender- 
son, whose boat happened to be nearest in to- 
ward the submarine. 



58 TOEPEDOED IN 

"Pull up alongside/ ' directed the voice. 

A heaving line was passed and the boat made 
fast to the submarine. 

Captain Henderson was then ordered to come 
aboard. 

"Are those your bags?" said a German sailor 
as the captain stepped out of the small boat. 

"They are, yes, sir," replied the captain. 

"Well, bring them with you. You are going 
to remain with us." 

"Have you no consideration for my wife and 
children?" asked the captain. 

To this the sailor made no reply. 

Captain Henderson was escorted down below 
in the U-boat. We did not see him afterward. 

The other men in the captain's boat were 
Fisher, Denison, Storey, John the gunner, and 
Borge, a sailor. 

Fisher, Denison and Storey were ordered 
aboard the U-boat and placed under guard on 
the deck. 

Three Germans then got into the small boat 
and ordered Borge and the gunner to row them 
to the Berwick Law. They carried two bombs 
with them. 

One of the Germans remained to guard the 
boat. The other two went aboard the ship to 
search for papers, ship's instruments, etc. 

While going over the ship they found the 
Chinaman Wong, who had been overlooked when 
the ship was abandoned. The men in the small 
boat heard the command, "Hands up!" This 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 59 

was repeated, followed by two shots in quick 
succession. 

The supposition was that "Wong did not under- 
stand what was wanted and continued to ad- 
vance toward the Germans and was shot down. 

After searching the ship thoroughly, the Ger- 
mans returned to the small boat. They had two 
ship's instruments and had left one of the bombs 
aboard. 

They made no comment about the shooting, 
and ordered the boat back to the submarine. 

Our men who had been left under guard on the 
U-boat were told to return to the small boat, 
much to their relief. 

Six Greeks were brought up from the interior 
of the U-boat and put aboard the small boat. 

" Shove off!" said a German officer. "Get 
away from here quickly." 

Believe me, these orders were obeyed with 
alacrity. 

The German commander was a young man — 
some said but twenty years old. T ne sailors all 
spoke English fluently. One of them said he 
had lived in the United States twelve years pre- 
vious to the war. They certainly did treat us 
square. They were strictly business, but there 
was no petty abuse. Everything was according 
to Hoyle. 

When the captain's boat had pulled alongside 
the U-boat the other lifeboats pulled on away. 
They were in no way molested. While they were 
headed toward the land, they were scattered and 
not in touch with each other. 



60 TOEPEDOED IN 

According to the chart, we were torpedoed at 
36 deg. 50 min. N. 00 deg. 10 min. W., about fif- 
teen miles off the coast of Algiers, and perhaps 
eighty miles east of Oran. 

When the torpedo exploded in the hold the 
electricity had been immediately cut off. There- 
fore the wireless was of no use. 

We did not expect any aid from that source, 
and our only chance was of reaching the coast 
and finding a safe landing. 

We had pulled away from the ship perhaps 
two miles when we heard a dull explosion, evi- 
dently one of the bombs which the Germans had 
placed in the hold. 

The ship was still riding fairly high, and 
seemed loath to give up. Even if she had been 
deserted, the old Berwick Law would stick to the 
last. 

Shortly afterward the Germans began to shell 
her. Twenty-six shots were fired before she 
went down. 

As I was unable to handle an oar to any ad- 
vantage, I took station in the bow of the boat as 
lookout. 

About two hours after we left the ship we saw 
the first dim outline of land. This did not seem 
far, but hour after hour we went on, without 
making any perceptible gain. 

The other boats were far out, to the right and 
left of us. 

It had been our policy to scatter, so in case 
the Germans shelled us we would not be caught 
in a bunch. At least some of us would get 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 61 

away. However, as previously stated, the com- 
mander was certainly a gentleman and surely 
did give us a square deal. 

For the last two hours I had my eye on a 
stretch of white sandy beach; also, the outlines 
of buildings were visible. The other men in 
the boat did not believe me and I had some 
difficulty in persuading them to steer for that 
spot. Eventually I had my way. We changed 
our course and headed directly for the white 
spot. We pulled off shore just before daybreak, 
the darkest hour of the night. We could hear 
the breakers, and could see a chain of rocks 
stretched along outside of the shore line. They 
resembled the unfinished wall of an enclosed har- 
bor. However, they had been placed there, evi- 
dently, by the Master Builder. 

Just outside this barrier we had overtaken 
the chief engineer in one of the big boats. He 
was loaded down with firemen and some horse- 
men. He was waiting for us to go in to look 
for a landing. Our boat was small and lightly 
loaded. 

With the use of pike poles we were able to get 
in close enough to wade ashore. In the mean- 
time we had hailed the shore, and two men were 
down to meet us. 

Rowland, who could speak Spanish fluently, 
also some French, went ashore to get the lay 
of things. 

We found that by going around the chain of 
rocks we could get into the small harbor and 
land at a small pier there. 



62 TOEPEDOEDIN 

We potted back over the rocks and directed 
the engineer's party to the pier, then waited for 
the chief mate, who was just coming up in an- 
other big boat loaded to capacity. We all landed 
just at daybreak Monday, December 3. 

December 3. 

El Marsa, Tenes, Algeria, is the correct post 
office address of this place, although the post 
office is some miles away. This being no more 
nor less than a large ranch, Monsieur Louis 
Cerrier is the ramrod here, and, believe me, he 
is some "Hombre." A native of France, resident 
in Algeria for many years, operating a ranch of 
several thousand acres, producing almost every- 
thing required to sustain life and employing a 
colony of perhaps thirty people, mostly natives, 
to aid him. 

Mr. Cerrier and several men were at the pier 
to help us. With the exception of Charley 
Smith, everybody was amply able to look out 
for himself. 

Smith was seriously injured and suffered 
greatly. His face and nose was badly bruised 
and cut; his hip was bruised and cut deeply; 
also, he had a long, deep gash in his side. After 
being in the lifeboat all night, and without aid 
of any kind, he was about all in; but he was 
game, and in spite of his fifty years was up and 
going. When I had found him the night before 
aboard ship I did not realize that he was so 
severely injured. How he ever made the lifeboat 
unaided is a mystery to me. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 63 

Mr. Cerrier dispatched one of his men for a 
pony cart, and Smith was conveyed up the wind- 
ing road to the mesa, about one hundred feet 
above sea level, where the main buildings were, 
and where a temporary hospital was arranged, 
with Smith the star patient. 

Second Mate Stark and myself constituted the 
medical staff. 

Stark gave first aid in the way of dressing 
and bandaging the wounds. He really was good 
at that work, and made a very thorough job 
of it. 

In the meantime I had rustled two quarts of 
home-made brandy, which, as a medicine, seemed 
very effective. Smith now felt 0. K., and in- 
sisted on being able to travel; however, we de- 
tailed a nurse to attend him until we could 
locate a doctor. 

In all, some sixty-odd men had so far landed 
at El Marsa. Up at the main ranch-house, hot 
coffee was prepared and dished out freely. 

This was surely appreciated. While the 
weather was not cold, there was just tang enough 
to the early morning air to make one feel the 
need of something warm. 

Then, too, some of the men were decidedly shy- 
on clothing. Many were without shoes and coats, 
and some had landed in their underwear only. 
These few had built up a big camp-fire down 
on the beach. Coffee and bread was taken down 
there by some of the other boys. Considering 
everything we were very fortunate, and could 
not have landed at a better place. 



64 TOEPEDOED IN 

Told oy the Greek captain: 

I was in convoy with a number of other ships, 
"between Oran and Gibraltar, on the night of 
December 1st. 

The convoy was attacked by submarines. I 
do not know how many, but at least two. 

The convoy dispersed, every one on his own 
hook. 

My ship was loaded with iron ore. We had 
^dropped astern and changed the course, hoping 
thus to avoid the enemy. 

Suddenly we were struck 'midships by a high- 
explosive torpedo which almost cut the ship in 
half. She went down in less than two minutes. 
The only survivors were the six men on watch, 
who immediately jumped overboard. 

The remainder, thirteen in number, went down 
with the ship. 

We were taken from the sea by the crew of 
the submarine, from which your boats took us 
last night. 

We were aboard the German U-boat about 
twenty-four hours. We were well treated and 
had plenty of good food, cigars and beer. 

The German commander said he regretted 
very much, the loss of the Greek crew. He was 
sorry that he had used such a high explosive 
torpedo on the loaded ship. 

Asked as to the probable fate of Captain 
Henderson, believed he would be sent to Ger- 
many or an Austrian prison camp. 

We did not know what fate had befallen our 
comrades in the other boats, and stationed a 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 65 

lookout to signal them in case they showed up 
"out there' ' where last seen the night before. 

Men from the ranch were dispatched along 
the coast in search of any boat that might have 
landed in some isolated spot. 

The coast here is rugged and undulating, ris- 
ing gradually to a range of mountains some * 
miles back. 

The mesas, or tablelands of rich alluvial soil, 
produce abundant crops of almost every food 
required to sustain the inhabitants. 

The climate almost perfect. Better in an all- 
around way, I believe, than Southern California. 

Some two hours previously the lookout had 
sighted a small boat out four or five miles. Evi- 
dently this was one of our boats, and apparently 
they had observed our signals and intended to 
make the same landing. 

They were coming' in very slowly. Either 
from exhaustion or some other cause the men 
had quit the oars. They did not appear at all 
anxious to hurry their arrival; and, in fact, did 
not arrive alongside the pier until noon. 

This proved to be No. 5 boat, the one that 
went adrift soon after being lowered, and con- 
tained seven men — four' of our men and three 
belonging to the Canadian crew. 

There had been considerable suspicion aroused 
over the actions of this boat. Some of the men 
believed it had been deliberately cut adrift by 
those who went down first, before the other men 
could go down the lines. 

Sure enough, this proved to be the case. Upon 



66 TORPEDOED IN 

investigation the bow of the boat showed the 
axe marks made when the painter had been 
severed, allowing the boat to drift away. 

The men in the boat would not say who had 
been gnilty of this very serious offense. How- 
ever, it was believed to be either Connelly, of 
the American crew, or one of the Canadians — 
I cannot now recall his name. This was the only 
case of cold feet developed among the entire 
crew, and under ordinary conditions the guilty 
parties would have been brought to account. 

Apropos of nerve recalls the following inci- 
dent: Some years ago I was in a boxcar going 
into Salt Lake City. There were about thirty 
of us on the train, and all unloaded at a cross- 
ing in the suburbs. We had come across the 
desert and were glad to hit a town like the 
Lake, except one big "hick" who had lost his 
hat and began to blubber like a kid with wet 
panties. Here we had two sixteen-year-old boys 
who not only lost most of their clothing, but 
took a chance on life itself, without a whimper. 

Soon after landing couriers had been sent out 
to the nearest telegraph station with dispatches 
for the British consul-general at Algiers, also to 
the French commander at Tenes, advising of our 
plight and requesting medical aid for the 
wounded. 

Our party had increased to seventy, entirely 
too many to be quartered upon one ranch, even 
though they were willing to take care of us and 
had supplied cheerfully everything needed in the 
way of food and drink. 



THE MEDITEKRANE AN 67 

The chief officer requested me to assume 
charge of all horsemen, and if possible to find 
accommodations for them elsewhere. He thought 
we would not hear anything before the following 
day from the authorities. 

"The Mule Navy Invasion of North Africa." 

It has been stated that an army travels on 
its bread-basket. Now, our expedition was well 
supplied along that line, but were noticeably 
short on shoes, coats and trousers. With the 
aid of the Greek captain as interpreter, I ar- 
ranged to take over all the shoes in stock at 
the ranch store. These were white cloth shoes 
with hemp soles; not bad at all, very comfort- 
able, and would answer very well for the pres- 
ent. All those without shoes were fitted out. I 
signed a memorandum to be forwarded to the 
British consul-general for payment. 

The Chinamen requested the privilege of join- 
ing our party, and were told to fall in and bring 
up the rear. 

At 4 o'clock we bid farewell to those remain- 
ing at El Marsa, to the ranch folks who had 
treated us so royally, and started on our way — 
forty white men and eleven Chinese. 

Ours was no expedition of conquest; rather 
it was one of acquisition. In fact, we did ac- 
quire something at every stop. 

At the first ranch, about two miles from our 
starting point, we secured two coats. They were 
unable to take care of any men on account of 
the entire family being away. 



68 TORPEDOED IN 

Here we were joined by two forest rangers, 
Monsieurs Andre Calvet and Charles Esvam 
These gentlemen had been instructed by the civil 
authorities at Tenes to get in touch with us. 

They were surely a very welcome addition to 
our party. Both could speak Spanish, and of 
course were familiar with the surrounding coun- 
try and knew who could best care for a bunch 
of wanderers such as we. 

At every ranch visited detachments of five to 
eight men were left, and at dark every man had 
been provided for. 

Five of us were quartered with Andre Calvet 
the ranger. We probably had the best accom- 
modations of the lot. I know that the people 
anywhere could not have been any better. 

After we had partaken of a splendid supper, 
with an abundance of wine and brandy, Monsieur 
Calvet and I made the rounds to see how the 
boys were faring. We found that all were very 
well pleased with the treatment received. True, 
some had to sleep on a bed of straw under sheds 
and without blankets, but there was plenty of 
brandy, lots of wine and food, therefore no one 
suffered in the least or noticed the lack of bed- 
ding. 

At every ranch we found the neighbors had 
gathered to see the strangers. Although con- 
versation was limited to signs with a word here 
and there, the spirit was there. These folks 
knew that we had come up from the sea; they 
knew, too, that we were the allies of their own 
country; that their fight was our fight, and all 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 69 

to down the Kaiser. Nothing was too good for 
us. A pleasant, happy evening was passed there 
on the shores of the blue Mediterranean, bathed 
in folds of pale tropic moonlight; the rippling 
waves breaking gently on the white sandy beach 
— vastly different from the night before. 

The French Colonials are, I believe, the most 
hospitable folks on earth. When a neighbor calls 
at the abode of another it is customary for the 
"best" in the house to be produced — wine or 
brandy, or both. The number of glasses par- 
taken of accords with the nature of the call. 

Our business was so unusual that every prece- 
dent was broken. Our greatest trouble was in 
getting away to the next place. 

At the last ranch visited, the next-door neigh- 
bor of Mr. Calvet, and a particular friend, we 
tarried so long I was afraid we would be unable 
to reach our own place; however, I had under- 
estimated our ability. 

We returned to find Monsieur Esvan and Mrs. 
Oalvet and her daughter Marie awaiting our 
arrival. 

The latter two, bidding us good night, retired, 
leaving us in possession of the dining-room. We 
held forth there for some hours, discussing ways 
and means, etc., of reaching the railway the fol- 
lowing day. Having decided to adjourn until 
later, I bid the gentlemen good night. 

Now, I did not want to awaken the folks who 
had retired earlier, therefore I would not walk 
across the room and create a lot of racket. Noj 



70 TOEPEDOED IN 

it would be much better to cross that room on 
hands and knees. 

Beaching my door thus, I noticed that Mr. 
Calvet had adopted the same tactics. He, also, 
was very considerate of the others. Mr. Esvan 
elected to remain in his chair, a large, old- 
fashioned rocker. 

December 5th. 

The clear, high-pitched drone of a motor some- 
where broke over the quiet of early morning. 

Scarcely had the household begun to stir when 
a native boy arrived at the ranch with the in- 
formation that the governor had arrived, and 
was then waiting on the highway below. 

In conveying this to me, Mr. Calvet suggested 
that we make haste. But yes, the governor we 
should meet at once. 

Dressing quickly, pausing just long enough for 
an eye-opener, I made my way around to the 
trail leading down to the highway, expecting 
to join Mr. Calvet there. However, he had pre- 
ceded me by several minutes, and was then some 
three hundred yards in advance, hurrying along 
the trail toward the road. Arriving there I was 
told the governor desired to speak to me. We 
shook hands; that is about as far as we got in 
the way of conversation. Neither of us could 
understand a single word uttered by the other. 

Next I was introduced to a captain of infan- 
try. We conversed in the same manner. 

I did not catch the name of either of these 



i-.. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 71 

gentlemen. Anyway I would not know how to 
spell them. 

A second machine, a double-decked auto lorry 
similar to the governor's machine, arrived, and 
from within stepped a youngish slender mail, 
wearing baggy red trousers, braided jacket and 
red fez, the uniform of the French foreign 
legion. 

Corporal Leroux was another of those walking 
dictionaries. He could speak nine languages 
and had travelled to the end of almost every 
road leading down through the east. 

Summing up our combined knowledge we 
found the only boat not accounted for had landed 
some ten miles beyond El Marsa. 

The lorries would proceed to that point for 
the men, then return and pick up those left at 
El Marsa, and our several detachments on the 
return trip to Tenes. 

Monsieur Calvet and I again made the rounds, 
notifying the boys to assemble on the main high- 
way, where they would be picked up by the re- 
turning machines. 

This was good news. Even though we did not 
know where we were going, we would rather be 
on the way. At some of the ranches breakfast 
had not yet been prepared. Rather than wait 
for this the men filled their pockets with long 
loaves of fresh, crisp bread and bottles of wine '• 
and brandy. The distance to Tenes was between 
sixty and seventy kilometres. We would be there 
in time for dinner. 

Within a few minutes of the arrival of the last 



72 TOEPEDOED IN 

detachment at the point of assembly, the return- 
ing machines arrived and drew up to compare 
notes. 

Upon checking up, we accounted for every 
man except the twenty-five in No. 4 boat. This 
was in charge of Bos'n Gibbs, a very able and 
competent man, therefore no apprehension was 
felt as to their fate. 

The four or five hours into Tenes was a pleas- 
ant, exhilarating ride over an almost perfect 
roadway; at places cut out of solid rock, now 
almost at the water's edge, now ascending long 
grades to the top of a sloping foothill, thence 
across the mesa down again and over long steel 
trestles to sea level. 

At every hamlet the inhabitants lined the 
roadway and waved us a cheery greeting. 
Wherever we stopped refreshments were always 
tendered. 

With the exception of Charley Smith every 
one was enjoying himself hugely. Poor 
■" Smithy' ' was bandaged in such a manner that 
only one eye was visible ; he could neither smoke 
nor drink, could only emit a low moan or a bale- 
ful glare from his one good eye to express his 
feelings. 

While yet some miles out of Tenes, ascending 
a long grade, I observed some distance ahead an 
old beggar nobbling along, aided in his wabbly 
walk by a crutch and two canes. Apparently 
he could just about move. 

A young native operator whom we had picked 
up at a signal station was sitting beside me. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 73 

I called his attention to the old fellow, and sug- 
gested giving him a lift. The young man 
laughed, and I turned just in time to see his 
" nibs' ' gather all of his "timbers" under one 
arm, and with a flying leap, land on the foot- 
board just outside where we were sitting. 
While apparently an old man, his eyes were 
young, and I knew that he did not require his 
crutch and canes. He regarded us in a specula- 
tive way and accepted a seat, a loaf of bread 
and a bottle of wine. The latter items went 
into his knapsack. While the men who had ten- 
dered these were somewhat surprised, nothing 
was said — perhaps that was customary there. 

The operator wanted to unload the old beggar, 
and I was sure if the corporal caught sight of 
him he was a goner. However, he went on with 
us and was not disturbed. 

We arrived at Tenes at 12:30 noon, a city of 
several thousand, nestling around the mouth of 
a deep, narrow canyon cut through the moun- 
tains from the backlands to the sea. 

The machines halted in front of a long, low 
building which we knew to be a military bar- 
racks, and where we met the boys from No. 4 
boat. 

The entire crew was now together the first 
time since leaving the ship. We learned they 
had landed about eight miles from our landing 
place, and had arrived in Tenes the same night 
at midnight. 

We were told to prepare for dinner. Even 
then we could see through the doorway to long 



74 TORPEDOED IN 

tables piled with food, flanked by an array of 
long-necked bottles. 

Charley Smith was taken to the hospital. I 
never saw or heard of him again. 

Our stay in Tenes would be of short duration. 
"We were to leave within an hour for Orleans- 
ville, distant some forty kilometres. This was 
the railway station, from where we would take 
train for Algiers. 

Just ready for dinner at the barracks, I was 
shunted off down the street by one of the natives. 
I supposed some information was wanted by 
some one, as for the past two days I had been 
the "goat" for this, that and the other, and al- 
ways on the go. I was agreeably surprised when 
we landed at an imposing-looking hotel ; the best, 
I believe, in the city. There I was put in charge 
of an old horse thief, who, if he lived up to his 
make-up, facial and otherwise, was quite capable 
of looting a bank or scuttling a ship without the 
least compunction. This party motioned me into 
the dining-room and high-signed a waitress to 
come and get me. 

At a long table were seated the ship's officers, 
the horse doctor, Chinese steward and "Chips." 
These gentlemen were visibly surprised, and I 
fear shocked, to see me, an ordinary horseman, 
there expecting to dine in such exalted company; 
but I was conducted over to a small table and 
served "solo." Also, instead of the large, blunt 
bottles of wine with which they were supplied, 
there were bottles with long slim necks— "thank 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 75 

you." I had an excellent dinner, plenty of good, 
wholesome food. 

In the course of the meal an officer entered 
and asked the mate what kind of transportation 
he wanted, first or second class. After due de- 
liberation he decided that second class for the 
officers and third class for the crew would fill 
the bill. Either third or fourth class would be 
good enough for the crew. I wanted to tell this 
officer that in the United States I had often seen 
better men than the mate travelling on freight 
trains. On second thought, however, I didn't 
say anything. The officer couldn't understand 
English, and the mate would not. At any rate it 
was only a few hours' ride. Had I known that 
our transportation all the way through to Paris 
was to be based on that same order, I would 
have made a strenuous kick. 

The auto lorries, the same double-deckers that 
had brought us into Tenes, were drawn up at 
the curb and ready to leave any minute. 

The men had scattered around the town and 
had to be rounded up; Those who had come in 
ahead of us, who needed shoes or other clothing, 
had been taken in charge by a committee to be 
outfitted. These also were missing, and had not 
showed up even for dinner. In company of 
some French soldiers, we started out to round 
up the absentees. This was no small job — the 
boys were in no hurry to leave Tenes. They 
had been warmly welcomed and treated royally 
by every one with whom they came in contact. 

Wherever a group of natives were gathered, 



76 TORPEDOED IN 

there we would be sure to find at least one of 
"ours." After "collecting" there we would 
move on to the next group, and so on until one 
machine had been loaded and was ready to leave. 

The little commandant for some reason was 
very eager to see us on our way. Whether he 
had orders from some higher authority, or was 
just anxious for us to get on to the railway, I 
do not know. At any rate we were about an 
hour behind our schedule, and would surely be 
too late for the evening train that would have 
landed us at Algiers about midnight. Appar- 
ently it would be impossible to find all of the 
men without great delay, and orders were given 
to move on with those present. 

There are but few spots anywhere on earth's 
surface that are blessed with a finer, more even 
climate than that part of Algeria bordering the 
Mediterranean sea. 

The days are invariably filled with bright, 
limpid sunshine; the nights are never cold at 
any time. Now in December there was just 
enough tang in the dry salt air to make one 
feel like keeping on the go forever. If one de- 
sired to remain indoors, a fire was not necessary 
throughout the evening. To those of us used 
to the open, this far-away land appealed like 
a thing from home. 

Around a giant circle encompassing nearly 
the entire city, the lorries swung out along the 
mountain road toward the interior. 

Clinging to the almost perpendicular side of 
the canyon, winding in and out and ever upward 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 77 

over a narrow rock roadway that surpassed the 
famous skyline drive itself, and in scenery lack- 
ing only the hanging bridge, the mountain sheep, 
and the stars viewed at noontime from the nar- 
row gorge just below Texas Creek. 

A branch line railway is fighting its way 
through this wild, rugged gorge from the inland 
valleys to Tenes and the sea. 

Through the first mountain hamlet we passed 
without notice, but at the next one, a little more* 
pretentious, containing a mail station, a school 
and perhaps two dozen houses, we passed in> 
review before the entire population. To these, 
evidently, we were just foreigners; whether 
friendly or otherwise they had not quite decided. 
No demonstration of welcome greeting, such as 
we had become used to, was extended as we 
passed rapidly through and out again to the 
open highway. 

Drawing up to one of the wayside tanks, 
erected and maintained by the Automobile Club 
de France (see signs), a halt was made to re- 
plenish the water in the radiators and to give 
us a brief minute to stretch our legs. We had 
passed a strenuous hour or two over that moun- 
tain road, swaying and pitching around sharp 
curves at a speed not at all conducive to sleep, 
especially to those of us on the upper deck. 

We had now passed out into the open balmy 
country. Vast ranches of grain land and vine- 
yards stretched away for miles on either side. 
Small fruits were in abundance. Everywhere 
could be seen the teams of horses and cattle 



7$ TORPEDOED IN 

pulling plows and discs, upturning* the soil for 
the new crops so greatly desired by the mother 
country, France. 

In the distance, far across this noble valley, 
and well in toward the foothills, lay the City of 
Orleansville, the largest and most industrious in- 
terior city of Algeria. 

Passing into the city down long, wide streets 
shaded by rugged trees similar to our elm and 
cottonwood, we brought up in front of Hotel de 
Ville, the municipal center. Here we unloaded 
bag and baggage. 

Our drivers had done their bit. Routed out 
in the small hours of morning to search along 
miles of shoreline for a torpedoed crew, they 
had completed their task, and had delivered us 
safely at the railway station for our onward 
journey. 

For some reason the authorities had not been 
advised of our coming. There was no one to 
meet us, and seemingly no one in authority any- 
where to direct us where to go. 

After considerable time and hiking around the 
city, we wound up at the military barracks, far 
out on an elevated plateau. 

Those who have stood at the apex of Robidoux 
and gazed down on the beautiful city at the foot 
thereof, have a mind's-eye view of the French- 
Algerian city of Orleansville. However, instead 
of the peaceful quiet of the American city, you 
would note the hubbub of military activity. 

Instead of the musical chimes pealing forth 
at eventide from the cupola of old Mission Inn^ 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 79 

rather yon would hear the clarion call of the war 
bugle, for Algeria has sounded the tocsin, she 
has heard the agonizing cry of the motherland, 
and her sons are marching forth. 

At the barracks we were divided into two 
} detachments, and assigned to the temporary mess 
halls of troops forming for service overseas. 

These were all native Algerian boys. The non- 
commissioned officers, as a rule, were Frenchmen, 
detailed for this work. They had seen much 
service at the front. Our mess sergeant was an 
old-timer. He had medals won at Vimy Ridge 
and Ypres in the present war, and had seen 
much hard service in the colonies previously. 
While he was weary of war, he was eager to 
return to the front. France would never stop 
until the Boche had been beaten down and placed 
where he belonged. 

The quarters of the old Foreign Legion were 
thrown open for us. We could, if desired, obtain 
a few hours' rest before leaving for the station 
at 1 A. M. 

The Legioners had left for the front in 1914. 
Most of them had long ago answered the last 
rollcall. Here on the walls were many memen- 
toes of the strenuous life they had lived, of the 
desert forays and conflicts, for here they had 
carved out with sword and lance a colonial em- 
pire for France. 

Although throughout the daylight hours the 
war work had been carried on at full swing, 
now at dusk the activities had relaxed; all had 
turned to lighter, happier things for the moment, 



80 TORPEDOED IN 

and were out in force for the best the night 
might bring forth. 

Seafaring men were quite a novelty in this 
interior town. The news and doings of the sea 
seldom penetrated so far inland. Our boys 
could be seen everywhere with groups of natives 
and soldiers, and while in a way they were 
handicapped so far as conversation was con- 
cerned, they seemed to be enjoying every minute 
to the fullest extent. 

Early in the evening, in company with the sail- 
ors, Larson, Borge "Boots," and "Frisco.," 
the two cooks and I had drifted into the Cafe 
des Messageries, ably conducted by Senor A. 
Loupinto. This was not only the liveliest place 
in town, but apparently headquarters for both 
civil and military authorities. All too soon we 
realized that the evening had passed. It was 
time to return to the barracks where we 
were to assemble before proceeding to the rail- 
way station. Some had turned in for a little 
rest. Rousing these and making our way out 
past the silent sentries, quietly as possible to 
avoid the soldiers, we formed for a silent roll- 
call. All present ! Following our guide, we filed 
out through the narrow doorway of the barracks 
into the street, once more on our way to the 
homeland. The night-gay little city had settled 
down to rest, preparing for another day of 
strenuous war work. 

On the long station platform were piles and 
piles of bundles and boxes and bales, luggage, 
food, household effects, personal belongings, sol- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 81 

diers' kits and what not, all to be moved to 
some place. One would think that this was a 
goods road only. There would be no room or 
place for mere humans, yet they were there. 
Squatted around and between those mountains 
of bundles, they waited, men, women and chil- 
dren and native soldiers, all bound for the sea- 
ports, for those towns had become "good." The 
war had made a great change. There was more 
work and good wages. "But yes, it is the 
place," said a little Spaniard, and that told the 
whole story. 

Although our train was long overdue, the peo- 
ple were still coming to the station; groups and 
families, all kinds and classes. .It did not seem 
possible that all of these folks could find room 
on our train. 

Orleansville was an engine division; just 
across the tracks stood the round house. From 
here a monster road engine slowly rolled out 
to the water column. "Etats Chemin de Fer 
Alger" on her tender looked all right; at least 
the words were in about the right place. The 
sharp escape of live steam as she moved, and the 
vibrant throb of the pumps denoted power. Ap- 
parently this monster machine could drag away 
as many of those little box-like coaches as could 
be tied on. 

A short, shrill whistle galvanized that plat- 
form into a seething mass of humanity. As the 
long train rolled into the station and halted with 
a lurch the scramble was on. Every door was 
jammed and crowded, every one wanted to get 



82 TORPEDOED IN 

aboard, and now. Those wishing to get off had 
to fight and squeeze their way ont. The station 
master had requested two special cars for us. 
These, we were told, would be well toward the 
rear of the train. 

Making our way back, we found every car 
filled to capacity. At the extreme rear a third- 
class car partially filled was grabbed in a rush 
by those in front; the others were compelled to 
load on any old place where there was an inch 
of space. 

A number of goods vans were switched in to 
the train. Bundles and boxes were loaded with 
an amazing swiftness. Soon there was not a 
single piece left ; the clean-up had been complete. 

Down along the train station porters were re- 
placing the dead heaters with new live ones. 
These, a sort of perforated pipe about three feet 
in length filled with lighted charcoal, are the only 
system of heating. 

They are placed along on the floor between 
seats, and are changed at division points. 

While crude, they are not at all bad; far bet- 
ter than nothing, especially in a mountain coun- 
try. 

The warning whistle of the station-master sent 
us on our way. Whatever the faults of Algerian 
trains, long station stops are not included there- 
in, which, in a way, accounts for the mad scram- 
ble to get aboard quickly. 

There is no familiar "all aboard" from the 
conductor; in fact, there is no conductor. Just 
who is in charge of the train I could never 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 83 

learn. The station-master stops them on ar- 
rival, also starts them on their way again, sells 
tickets to those going away and collects from 
those coming in. I suppose the engineer and 
fireman do the rest. 

Just after daylight we pulled into quite a 
large city. The station buildings and surround- 
ings denoted a town of considerable importance. 
The name over the doorways, while short, did 
not mean anything to me. Long ago I had given 
up that foolish idea. It is all right in the States, 
but in Algeria you are only wasting your time. 

Down at the end of the station was a familiar- 
looking place, at least worth investigating. "But 
yes, monsieur, cafe con cognac,' ' said the lady 
there, pushing out the little cups of strong black 
coffee and brandy. While the Americans were 
all off on the platform, apparently the natives 
were afraid to take the risk. 

The first-class passengers were eager for an 
eye-opener of the black beverage: This led to 
an early arrangement with the boys on the plat- 
form. 

For the price of two cups one was passed 
through the car windows, until every one had 
been supplied. This proved very satisfactory 
all around except with the station-master. Try 
as he would, he could not get all of the boys 
aboard at once. He was greatly worried when 
the train pulled out to see them swing onto the 
runningboard of the cars they had been riding- 
He did not know that most of those men were: 
more at home on the deck or underneath thaa 



84 TORPEDOED IN 

on the cushions. They could board that train 
anywhere without any danger. 

Over the level country the train was now 
speeding along at a thirty-mile clip. This was 
a pleasant diversion from the slow, creepy gait 
of the past few hours through the foothills with 
their long, stiff grades. 

Evidently the enginemen had a mind to make 
up some of our lost time, for villages and small 
stations were passed up without the slightest 
notice. On and on we sped, past long sidings 
filled with vat cars held for the great wineries 
that would soon be in operation. 

Miles and miles of level, fertile land, some 
under cultivation, much more apparently virgin 
soil, stretched away to the horizon. Perhaps in 
future years this fair land will be the home of 
countless thousands. 

Approaching Algiers from the interior one is 
reminded of a great inland city. Only when the 
train had rounded the headlands and along the 
land-locked harbor was the first view of the sea 
obtainable. Out beyond the bar walls of water 
racing shoreward appeared for the moment 
menacing, only to break against the rocky bar- 
riers with a great splash and showers of flying 
spray. 

Along the waterfront, past the long rows of 
piers, we made our way to the station, back 
again to the city we had so recently left without 
the slightest idea of ever seeing it again. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 85 

Algiers, December 5. 

Edging our way through the congested sta- 
tion, we crossed to the Rue de la Libertie in 
search of the British consul-general. Here we 
were joined by a little man dressed like a white 
man, but wearing the inevitable fez that white 
men do not wear as a rule. He had, he admitted, 
been sent out by the consul-general to meet our 
party as official guide. 

Although he had missed us at the station, he 
assured us of his unusual ability along this line. 
The first thing would be to find hotels in time 
for dinner. This was very agreeable, as we had 
postponed breakfast, other than the black coffee 
and cognac of the station buffets along the 
route. 

I have heard it said that somewhere there is 
a land where Jews are not. Either that is a 
myth or the road thereto leads through a coun- 
try of no per cent. 

If our little man was not a Jew, which he 
stoutly denied, he surely displayed the charac- 
teristics of that race. " Every little movement 
had a meaning of its own." 

From that time until we had gone aboard ship 
every move we made was subject to his ap- 
proval. 

As a rule, we were halted a little distance 
away until satisfactory arrangements had been 
concluded. "He had surely been born with the 
percentage." 

Rooms were secured at the Hotel de Madrid, 
While meals also were served there, it would be 



86 TORPEDOED IN 

better for lis to eat elsewhere, said the guide. 
Evidently the landlord of the Hotel de Madrid 
was a very thrifty person. He did not believe 
in. parting with any more silver than was abso- 
lutely necessary. 

, The consul-general would supply each one 
with an outfit of clothes to replace those lost 
when the ship went down. This transaction 
would take place in the early afternoon. The 
guide had arranged with a certain merchant, 
the best in the city, so he said. 

The Cafe del Oro, in the Rue des Chartres, 
whose modest sign proclaimed the ability to 
serve the famished at all hours, proved the ex- 
ception to the rule. 

Our party of sixty-odd, filing through the nar- 
row doorway into the spacious dining-room, 
caused no aaore of a ripple in the placid work- 
ings of that establishment than the proverbial 
drop in the bucket. 

Five hundred could be served as quickly and 
fully as could five. 

Having had but a scant few minutes to pre- 
pare for us, they had placed several tables to- 
gether at one side of the room. These were load- 
ed with food, an extra long table holding a re- 
serve of bottled red wine and dozens of loaves 
of French bread stood close at hand. 

The others diners had us spotted. Through- 
out the meal we were "gandered," like the wild 
girl in any carnival company playing Tupelo. 

Perhaps this notoriety appealed to some of 
us, also. At any rate, the person who could 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 87 

speak enough English or Spanish to ask for 
details of the sinking of the Berwick Law cer- 
tainly got his money's worth. However, we 
were not in the limelight long. In the later days 
when we had reached the submarine zone proper, 
we found that a torpedoed crew attracted no 
more attention than a moving picture cowboy in 
Hollywood. 

"Oui, senor. Sure," said Monsieur Ben- 
simon, keeper of the toggery, as he draped Fitz- 
patrick with a suit of clothes and forced a roll 
of underclothing, shoes, etc., under each arm. 
"Next gentleman! Yes, sir." However, Fitz 
did not enthuse worth a cent. This grab-and- 
catch method did not appeal. Fitz, in a way, 
was like the Arkansas Central — not as long as 
some, but just as wide. It would be policy to 
take a second glance at a suit of clothing one 
might have to wear several thousand miles. 

As a rule, however, the boys were not overly 
fastidious. Somehow they did not seem to re- 
gard this deal very highly. At any rate, the 
clothing issued was of little value ; old remnants 
of shopworn stuff, junk that no white man would 
buy. 

Of course the British government was charged 
up for first-class outfits. At the start some of 
us made a "holler," but it didn't do any good. 
"Whomever we saw would pass the buck to some 
one else. At last becoming disgusted, we ac- 
cepted our outfits along with the others. We 
knew one way to dispose of them. 



88 TORPEDOED IN 

December 6th. 

"Kindly note on the chart as nearly as pos- 
sible position of the Berwick Law when the tor- 
pedo struck," said the consul-general to Bos'n 
Gibbs. 

; "Did you see the U-boat after the vessel had 
"been struck?' ' 

"No, sir, not until after we had lowered the 
lifeboats and pulled away from the ship." 

"Your ship was armed,' was she not!" 

"Yes, sir. She mounted one small gun — a, 
4.7." 

"Were there any shots fired from the Berwick 
Law?" 
j "No, sir." 

"Where were your gunners when the boat was 
torpedoed?" 

"I believe that one was asleep and the other 
•one in the galley." 

"Was there any one on watch at the time!" 

"Yes, sir. Apprentice Eiddle was on watch in 
the crow's nest. A sailor was on deck watch; 
also, of course, there was' an officer on the 
lb ridge. ' ' 

"Did any one report seeing the submarine 
"before or immediately after the vessel had been 
torpedoed?" 

"No, sir, not to my knowledge." 
! Previous testimony has shown that the 
Berwick Law did not sink until some time after 
the torpedo had exploded in her hold. In fact, 
she remained afloat until sunk by bombs and 
shell fire. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 89 

"In your opinion, if the crew had not aban- 
doned ship at once, but had stood by and f onght 
the U-boat, wonld it have been possible to save 
the ship?" 

"No, sir, not a chance." 

This reply seemed to "nettle" the consul-gen- 
eral very much. 

Evidently he would have elected to remain 
and fight it out. Personally, I am very glad 
that the consul-general was not there. We never 
had a chance with the Huns. Not one subma- 
rine, but two, lay out there, invisible to us, 
while we were a perfect target. Then, too, they 
had four guns to our one, saying nothing of 
torpedoes. If our gunners had fired, even 
blindly as they would have to do, the U-boats 
could have blown us to pieces without the slight- 
est risk to themselves. The explosion had put 
the wireless out of commission; also the steer- 
ing gear was jammed. In case of a scrap, the 
Germans would have had their own way, and 
could have easily destroyed every lifeboat 
launched. 

All hands ready to sail at 4 P. M. for Mar- 
seilles was the order given out at dinner. 

The consul would not advance any money to 
the crew. Said he had no authority to do so. 
However, he would arrange with either Mar- 
seilles or Paris in regard to this (official bunk). 
Tobacco and cigarettes would be distributed at 
the pier before going aboard ship. 

Five francs, six — eight, but yes, ten francs; 
no more. That was about the average price 



90 TORPEDOED IN 

obtained from the natives for the clothes that 
had been issued to us. Shoes and underwear 
were good for another ten-franc note; total in 
American money, four dollars. 

Then the fun started, when the guide, with 
the assistance of gendarmes and soldiers, had 
assembled the crew at the pier shortly before 
sailing time. Some of that bunch were charged 
up to a thousand. 

The Chinamen also had been down in the quar- 
ter of their own kind. They, too, were keyed 
up to high pressure. One of them, a husky fire- 
man, wanted to fight, and would fight some one 
right now. He had been avoided by so many 
he thought he had the whole crowd buffaloed. 
Then he ran into Keegan, a New York lad, 
smaller than the Chink, but quick as lightning 
and hard as nails. 

The Chinaman made just one pass at Keegan, 
then sat down hard on the pavement. Spring- 
ing up, he sailed in, fighting like a wild man, 
and succeeded in landing some pretty stiff blows. 
Finally Keegan caught him a good right-hander 
just under the ear. That Chink spun a complete 
circle and went down like a ton of brick. He 
never came back for any more. 

As nearly as I can remember that is the only 
occasion I ever knew of a Chinaman challeng- 
ing a white man to a fistic encounter. 

This fight had started others on the pier; even 
the natives had indulged in a bout or two. The 
confusion was so great that passageway had 
been cut off entirely. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 91 

The little man who was trying to distribute 

tobacco and cigarettes was buffeted about from 

•pillar to post. In the melee I managed to get 

a pipe, but the best I could do in the line of 

tobacco was a package of cigarette papers. 

The steamship Moise, a small but fast boat, 
was the regular mail packet plying between 
Algiers and Marseilles. She had been on this 
same run for many years, and since August, 
1914, had missed but one or two trips. Although 
the Mediterranean was thick with U-boats, she 
had never been molested. Some said that so 
many spies travelled back and forth between 
the two ports that the Germans had orders to 
pass her up. 

When we had arrived at the pier head it 
looked as though the ship was then loaded to 
the limit. 

Regular passengers had taken all available 
room, and some had even piled their luggage 
along the passageways outside. In addition, sev- 
eral companies of native troops en route to the 
French front were on board. From stem to 
stern these troops, with their kits and gear, had 
crowded into every nook and cranny. It seemed 
a physical impossibility for sixty more men to 
be wedged into that mass. However, we in- 
tended to make that boat somehow. As long 
as we were on the way, we did not want to miss 
a single connection at any place. Our gear, con- 
sisting of a lifebelt and one blanket, would not 
take up much space ; but even standing room was 



92 TOEPEDOED IN 

not available. Something would have to be done, 
and quickly. 

Going up the forward lines, two of the lads 
succeeded in clearing a space for our gear, which 
was tossed up from below. As in 'most every- 
thing else, a start is all that is needed; somehow 
we managed to get aboard, and were all to- 
gether. A little pressure was exerted at times 
perhaps, but war is hell anyway. 

I was surprised at the number of women and 
children aboard. After we had left the harbor, 
the officers had straightened things out a bit by 
using the passageways along the first-class 
cabins and quartering a company of troops back 
on the superstructure. We had been given much 
more room. One could move about the ship 
without walking over others. Women and chil- 
dren were everywhere, some just ordinary pas- 
sengers going to France and Spain; others were 
families of men going to the front. They carried 
bundles of personal and household effects, as 
though they did not expect to return. 

Everywhere more or less confusion existed. 
A vague feeling of some unseen danger seemed 
to permeate throughout. Even the veteran sail- 
ors who had made this trip day after day, 
seemed to sense it, and in reply to questions 
merely shrugged their shoulders. 

Ordinarily perhaps the facilities for serving 
food to the passengers were adequate. On this 
occasion, however, they proved absolutely nil. 
Eooms that might have been used for mess-rooms 
were crammed full of humans who had nowhere 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 93 

else to go. In general it looked as though we 
were in for a bad night. 

Around five o'clock the stewards announced 
supper. How and where same would be served 
they did not know or apparently care. 

As it happened, we were quartered near the 
galley and had seen the huge kettles of boiled 
rice thickened with chopped meat. Although we 
had no utensils or tableware whatever, we fully 
intended to have some of that grub when the 
time came. 

The native soldiers were served first. Boilers 
and buckets filled with rice were placed along 
the deck. Around these the men would gather 
and grab what they could. It was a mad scram- 
ble, like thirsty range cattle around a newly-dis- 
covered water hole in the Huachucas. 

We did not fare any better, and perhaps pre- 
sented just such a spectacle as did the natives. 
As previously explained, we had no knives, forks 
or spoons. Some of our fellows did not eat at 
all; others would break chunks of bread and 
dip into the rice. 

At a great outlay (of United Cigar coupons) 
I had obtained from a certain source a common- 
sized tablespoon, crested with an anchor sur- 
mounted by a flag and bearing the following in- 
scription: "Cie. Gle. Transatlantique. ' ' This I 
froze onto. I would not even loan it to my best 
friend. I have it yet. Buckets of red wine, 
drawn from great kewpie-shaped casks, passed 
around freely as water. Even after the meal 
was over the wine kept on coming. This prob- 



94 TORPEDOED IN 

ably had something to do with the fracas that 
followed. 

The old adage that wine, women and song will 
play h — 1 with a man's soul is no doubt very 
true. That this is accomplished in a way pecu- 
liar to the individual affected is also true. 

Forward on the saloon deck the smoking-room 
extended nearly the width of the ship. Here a 
quartet had been holding forth for some hours. 
Brandy and wine were there in proportion. 

McGraun, better known to us as "Pinochle 
Charley/ ' which fits him better than any de- 
scription I could give, as a rule was never heard 
from except at meal time, or when trailing some 
one suspected of having tobacco, and who never 
stirred a foot away from his bunk without his 
lifebelt, now had abandoned all precaution. 

"Pinochle" was lit up like a light-house in a 
fog, and proved to be an amusing entertainer. 
When ready to retire, finding no better place 
available, he calmly entered the chief mate's 
cabin, filled and lighted his cob-pipe and pro- 
ceeded to stretch out comfortably on that gen- 
tleman's bunk. 

I had curled in the passageway just at the 
foot of the stairway leading to the boat deck. 
In case of a night messenger from the Huns I 
wanted to be one of those present at the cere- 
monies. 

Some time during the early morning hours I 
was awakened by one of our boys, who said 
there was a fight on in the smoking-room. Just 
at that time Jack Keegan came up and said that 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 95 

"Blacky' ' (Dave) Lewis had been shot by the 
third engineer. 

Before I could get out of the hallway Keegan 
returned and said that " Blacky' ' was not hurt; 
the shot had missed. "Here is the gun," said 
he, throwing back his coat and exposing the 
muzzle of a pistol protruding from the inner 
pocket. 

It appeared that the mix-up had been between 
the horsemen and the engineers, where friction; 
more or less, had existed since launching the 
lifeboats December 2. The engineers had tried 
to put over that "phoney" class stunt so preva- 
lent in England, but the Americans would not 
have it. They insisted that each man do his 
share on equal terms. 

In the mix-up the engineers were pretty 
roughly handled, and plainly showed the effects 
of the beating they had received. The fourth 
engineer, who on several occasions had gone out 
of the way to make things unpleasant for the 
Americans, and who was the main instigator of 
that night's trouble, received special attention. 
His features were battered out of shape. The 
engineers got just what was coming to them. 
From that time, until we left them in London, 
they attended strictly to their own affairs. 

The ship's officers called the troops and five 
of the Americans were placed in the "bug." 
However, they were released in a few hours. 

' * That coast is strange to me," said one of 
our sailors, who had made several trips into 
Marseilles, pointing to a rocky headland jutting 



96 TOEPEDOED IN 

out like the top of a letter S. By a member of 
the ship's crew we were told we were approach- 
ing the City of Toulon instead of Marseilles. 
During the night we had been chased more than 
a hundred miles out of our course by a hostile 
ship of some kind. It was impossible to get the 
least bit of information of this affair from the 
ship's crew. Together with two other ships 
picked up at daybreak, we ran into the harbor 
of Toulon and dropped anchor. 

Luck had surely been with us. Had the Moise 
been torpedoed that night few indeed would have 
lived to tell the tale. No precautions had been 
taken even for the women and children. Not a 
single lifeboat had been swung out. Among that 
drink-crazed crowd the loss of life would have 
been appalling. 

Super-submarines, recently turned out by the 
Germans, had been laying mines outside of the 
harbors of Toulon and Marseilles. Eumor had 
it that one of them had been destroyed by strik- 
ing one of their own mines. At any rate, we 
were to remain in Toulon harbor until further 
orders. This was very disappointing. Owing 
to the congestion, the sanitary conditions aboard 
ship were bad. The food, although plentiful, 
was served in such a way that while some were 
gorged others were hungry. The children had 
become peevish and fretful. The pinched fea- 
tures of the white-faced women told their own 
story. Theirs had been the harder lot. Many 
without shelter and scantily attired looked to be 
near exhaustion. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 97 

Barely making past the net gates, which close 
promptly at a given time, the Moise trailed in 
the wake of a French submersible out through 
the mined channel and headed along the coast 
for Marseilles, ordinarily a run of three to four 
hours. Scarcely had the submarine flashed their 
farewell signal, when full speed ahead sounded 
below. Never mind the mines, no lights, full 
speed and hug the coast seemed to be the orders, 
and good luck to the winner. 

Rowland, Obdyke and I had organized a sort 
of safety-first league. Making our way aft we 
had edged a liferaft over the rail; this was 
lashed in such manner that a slash of a knife 
would free it from the ship. If necessary we 
would go overboard with it. 

Apropos of nothing in particular we were 
conversing in low tones to avoid disturbing some 
women and children huddled up in the lee of the 
gun deck near by, when we were startled by a 
short blast of the whistle. "What is that for?" 
said Obdyke. "That," replied Rowland, as a 
large two-funnel troop ship flashed by at arm's* 
length. She was loaded down with soldiers, even 
to the rigging. One could have easily reached 
out to her 'midship rail. Afterward our carpen- 
ter, "Chips," told me he was in the fore peak 
talking to the lookout there, and that if the 
Moise had not swerved sharply to the right the 
two ships would have met bow on. This was 
perhaps the closest shave of all, considering the 
speed of both. The Moise would have crumpled 
like an eggshell. 



98 TORPEDOED IN 

Marseilles, France, December 11th. 

The forty-eight hours in Marseilles passed 
like that many minutes. Following our hair- 
breadth escape from the troop ship December 9, 
the Moise nosed her way into her home port at 
10 P. M. She knew that darkened harbor as 
you do your own room. Passing among a score 
of anchored tramps, she tied up at the piers of 
The Companie General Transatlantique. Fore 
and aft gangways were placed, and in less than 
twenty minutes the human cargo had disap- 
peared to a man. Even the crew seemed to have 
departed. 

No provision had been made for us ashore. 
Now, however, we found blankets galore, left 
by the women folks, and passed the night com- 
fortably aboard ship. 

"Thos. Cook & Son, 1113 Kue Noilles, Mar- 
seilles,' ' was the inscription on the card pre- 
sented by a suave gentleman standing at the 
head of the gangway. Said he : " Our company 
has instructions to take charge of your party, 
Marseilles to London." Would we be ready at 
once to go ashore? We would! Following a brisk 
hike of half an hour over the rough cobblestone 
streets leading from the waterfront out beyond 
the great terminal station of the Paris, Lyons 
and Mediterrane Railway to the Boulevard 
d'Athenes and the hotel section of the city. Our 
party was divided between the Hotel de 
Grenoble and Hotel Beaulieu. Meals for the 
entire party were served at Hotel de Grenoble. 
The food here was both plentiful and excellent. 



THE MEDITEKRANEAN 99 

While all waste had been eliminated, there were 
no short rations of anything. 

There in Southern France the people had not 
suffered for anything and did not expect to, the 
only exception being imported articles. 

Most of our time was spent in making the 
rounds from the hotels to the British and Amer- 
ican consular offices. A civilian could not get 
■very far without the proper credentials, and was 
apt to receive short shrift if picked up on the 
streets entirely void of these very necessary 
papers, as we were. 

Our original passports had been lost with the 
ship. The consul-general at Algiers had issued 
a blanket passport covering our passage to Mar- 
seilles only. 

At the British consulate we met a number of 
men from the ships that had come out in convoy 
with us from Port Said and Alexandria. The 
five that left us and went into Malta, the follow- 
ing day while en route to Bizerta, had . been 
attacked by several submarines. Four of the 
five were sunk, according to the men who had 
been picked up and landed at Marseilles. As 
far as I know this was never reported in the 
newspapers. One of the attaches told us that 
this was a daily occurrence, that is, torpedoed 
crews reporting there, some for payment and 
some for shipment to their home countries. 
After our party had been fixed up, then late in 
the evening, the street outside was crowded 
halfway down the block with waiting crews. 

The entire male population had gone to the 



100 TORPEDOED IN 

front. Only the very young and very old men 
were left. 

At the barbershop, where the entire crew had 
been Bent by the consul, the four chairs there 
were operated by small youngsters. The boss, 
apparently upward of forty-five years of age, 
was working in his soldier togs. It was the same 
at the hotels; in fact, in any small business 
place where a man was working we learned he 
was on leave for a few days. Troops were leav- 
ing hourly, while others were returning direct 
from the trenches tired and dirty for a change 
of clothing and rest. 

The City of Marseilles resembles San Fran- 
cisco perhaps more than any other American 
city, — the cosmopolitan population, the climate, 
the hilly portion along the sea, the great land- 
locked harbor wherein ride at anchor ships to 
and from the world's highways. The great gay 
underworld, probably just now the most vivid in 
all Europe, reminds one of the old Chinatown 
that was before the great fire and the reform 
wave that followed swept over the city by the 
Golden Gate. 

The Paris express would leave at 11:40 P. M. 
was the order given out at the evening meaL 
All hands were expected to be ready to leave the 
hotel at ten-thirty sharp. 

An informal party had been staged in the 
dining-room, after the supper things had been 
cleared away. Among our crowd was a fair 
quartet, also some of the boys could "fiddle" 
and strum the banjo, much to the delight of the 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 101 

youngsters clustered about the doorways. All 
of the women folks of the hotel (there was not 
a single man around the place) were there for a 
farewell glass of wine — bon voyage. The French 
people drink their wine and brandy because they 
• enjoy doing so. Unlike some of us in America, 
they do not get "charged up" and try to turn 
over the school-house or lick the "constibule." 
I have never yet seen a drunken person in 
France (except foreigners). 

Down the long train in the wake of " Cookie' ' 
or "Cake" as the guide had become known, we 
found a third-class car had been reserved for 
us. This was a fairly decent corridor car, each 
compartment having room for six persons and 
was heated by steam, a thing greatly appre- 
ciated during an all-night ride in mid-December. 

"Lyons, Dijon, Paris," thus were most of the 
cars placarded. These were filled in short order 
by a jostling, .surging crowd who, judging from 
the amount and variety of luggage carried, might 
be out on a world tour. 

The loading and departure of two long troop 
trains had delayed the Paris express more than 
■ an hour, a thing not to be taken lightly, judging 
from the manner of the jabbering, hurrying 
officials on the platform. Evidently this train 
was of some import. 

That part of France, the Midi, in many ways 
perhaps the most interesting part of the repub- 
lic, we passed through at night. At Lyons, with 
its acres of silk and textile mills, the train halted 
forty minutes for breakfast. 



102 TORPEDOED IN 

" Don't go in there, you bloody fool," said the 
fourth engineer to Fitzpatrick, who had reached 
out to open a door leading to the station res- 
taurant. "Cawn't you see that is for ladies?" 

"Well, then this one must be for gentlemen; 
at any rate you would be barred from either," 
replied the Irishman as he swung open another 
door and we trooped inside in a bunch. "Over 
this way; we have been ready for you some 
time," said a man in khaki, waving the party 
to a group of tables cut off from the main room 
by a lattice-work railing. The officers, who had 
been following the lead of the fourth engineer, 
found their way in a few minutes later only to 
find all seats occupied. They had to be content 
with a cup of coffee and whatever else they 
could get, standing along the wall. 

Despite the delay at Marseilles and other 
points caused by the great number of troop 
trains to and from the front, our train did re- 
markably well. 

I think it was at Dijon, the last engine divi- 
sion, that the long-legged atlantic-type rambler 
was coupled on. She was some engine. One 
of the boys remarked that if they would fix her 
up with a cowcatcher she might pull the "Cen- 
tury," or even No. 3, between Dodge City and 
La Junta. 

From the moment he lamped the highsign at 
Dijon until he had pinched 'em down in the 
immense train shed of the Gare du Nord, Paris, 
that hogshead was rorin' to go. We arrived at 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 103 

6:35, just three hours late; a remarkable run 
under existing conditions. 

"Ah, me lads, you would like to be in Blighty, 
eh?" said our new guide, approaching our party 

from the station. "Blighty your foot," 

replied one of the boys. "How about the old 
United States? Say, when do we eat?" "Fol- 
low me and keep together." Four blocks from 
the station we halted in front of a pair of wide, 
high doors. After considerable pounding the 
guide had aroused some one and the doors 
swung inward. "Go to the last floor and turn to 
the left." The last floor was the seventh floor 
up a spiral stairway that dropped like a plumb 
bob. The turn to the left brought us into a 
spacious room filled with long tables, many of 
which were littered with dirty dishes and soiled 
linen. "Been having a blow-out?" the guide 
was asked. "Oh, no, just some torpedoed sail- 
ors ; they have just left for England, eighty-four 
of them." The guide informed us he would 
have to leave. "After you have had your sup- 
per," said he, "remain at the front entrance 
for my mate, who will be along presently to con- 
duct you to the hotel." The mate, who did ar- 
rive shortly afterward, proved to be one of the 
most interesting and intelligent men I have ever 
met. He could give out more concrete infor- 
mation in two minutes, and in a way that even 
the most obtuse could understand readily, than 
most of his kind could do in a lifetime. We 
were told that in the old days he was always 
detailed with special parties, and had escorted 



104 TORPEDOED IN 

many prominent personages from all parts of the 
world. He knew Paris from A to Z, and was 
equally at home along the Champs Elysses or 
the Montmarte. 

HOTEL del 'UNION NATIONALE 

8, Place de Budapest 

Arrivee des Grandes Lignes (en face la Poste) 

Gare St. Lazare. PARIS 

R. Blot, Propre 

Chauffage Central 

Electricite, Bains 

Chambres depuis 3f 

Telephone Central 48-50 English Spoken 

"EverVing he is high cost," said Monsieur 
Blot, as a bus boy approached with a basket of 
fresh French bread. 

"In your 'countree' it is so, yes?" Upon 
being informed that this was the case even in 
America, Mr. Blot opined that the Boche would 
have to be "peenched" soon. 

Paris, like Marseilles, suffered a shortage only 
of imported articles. 

The lack of shipping had caused many essen- 
tials to disappear from the market entirely. 
Other things had reached enormous prices. For 
instance, a pair of ordinary bed sheets cost 
twenty-five dollars. Soap was also very high 
and very scarce at any price. The hotels did 
not furnish this. One had to rustle one's own 
or do without. 

On December 12th neither cigarettes nor 
matches could be purchased at the tobacco shops. 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 105 

In all Paris perhaps there were not a dozen 
packs of either for sale. The U-boats had taken 
heavy toll of French shipping of late. 

Paris, December 12. 

The long, brilliantly-lighted concourse of the 
Gare St. Lazare, an hour before nearly deserted, 
was now a wavy mass of humanity. Three long 
troop trains had arrived from the front and dis- 
gorged their cargoes of home-bound soldiers. 

Everywhere were little groups of smartly- 
gowned, vivacious women and scampering, danc- 
ing children eagerly waiting to greet relatives 
and friends, smiling a hearty welcome to all in 
general. Here and there knots of British and 
Canadians moved about, seeking information of 
the channel trains that would bear them back 
to Blighty, interspersed with French Colonials 
in their picturesque uniforms of jaunty fez, 
short jacket and baggy red trousers, and details 
of Allied military police in their businesslike 
khaki, presented a scene there on that small 
corner of the world's war stage fit to be viewed 
by the peoples of the universe. 

Our party had assembled just opposite the 
room occupied by the military police commander. 
While waiting for the channel train we passed 
the time noting the varied activities of that busy 
functionary. All individual soldiers and small 
detachments, whether going on leave or return- 
ing to duty, must register there to be cleared 
by their respective representatives. Civilians 
also were required to have their passports vised 



106 TOBPEDOED IN 

by the military. Men were detailed from all 
the Allied armies. Two Americans, a soldier 
and a blue jacket, were on duty constantly. 

Among the various groups coming and going 
with scarcely a minute's delay was a detail of 
Canadians in command of a Belgian officer, es- 
corting two prisoners wearing the Belgian ser- 
vice uniform. 

These prisoners, tall, clean-cut young men, 
who looked as though they might be brothers, 
we learned were German spies who had been 
detected in the front line trenches waiting an 
opportunity to return to their own lines. Al- 
though they could speak Flemish and French 
in addition to their own tongue, now they de- 
clined to converse at all; just stood there silent 
and as unperturbed as if accused of some trivial 
offense which would be explained away shortly. 

They well knew that there would be but one 
end, and that soon; a firing party in the early 
dawn. 

The Man in the Wheel Chair. 

"If you will do me a favor I will give your 
party a special car and you an entire compart- 
ment,' ' said the guide to Cook Jimmie Storey. 

"I have a man here en route to London who 
is slightly deranged; not at all dangerous, just 
helpless and unable to travel alone." 

This man, an American sailor, by name Henry 
Wilton, from Bayonne, New Jersey, had been 
on a ship torpedoed in the North Sea. Most of 
the crew had succeeded in getting oif in the life- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 107 

boats only to be shelled by the Germans while 
drifting helplessly about on the sea. 

All of the boats had been sunk but one, and 
the occupants of this had apparently been shelled 
to death. However, after drifting for eleven 
days it was picked up by a patrol boat and two 
of the occupants restored to life, — Henry Wilton 
and another American whose name I did not 
learn. This man had also come with us from 
Paris. However, I did not see him until we 
were detraining at the channel port. His feet 
and hands had been frozen while drifting about 
wounded in the open boat, and he had to be 
moved in a wheel chair. I was tempted several 
times to ask him to relate his story, but he was 
so grievously ill that I refrained from molesting 
him. 

While at this channel port, Rowland, Obdyke 
and I had dropped in at the Sailors' Home to 
write some letters. The young man in charge 
there said he would be glad to supply us with 
woolen socks and mufflers. These were grate- 
fully accepted. Later, upon our return to the 
hotel, the entire crowd went to the home and 
all were supplied. These articles had been fur- 
nished by a society in England, and bore cards 
with the following address: 

Mrs. Alice F. Thorger, Honorable Secretary, 
Room 35, 90 Deansgate, Manchester, England. 

They were greatly appreciated during the 
chilly wintry days in London and Liverpool, and 
while crossing the Atlantic. 

"Sigge Dagupan," exclaimed a voice that 



108 TORPEDOED IN 

was dimly familiar. "Sigge yourself," I re- 
plied, grasping the hand of Jack Shadd, a vet- 
eran mnle skinner of the Spanish- American War, 
whom I had first met in Porto Rico. 

Truly the world is small. The last time I had 
seen Jack he was astride a banister of a bamboo 
bridge that spanned a turbulent little stream 
in northern Luzon, spitting some lurid lingo at 
a carabao wallowing and spouting in the muddy 
water below. 

That morning he had poled the carabao out of 
Gagua with a cartload of bacon and hardtack 
consigned to Sergeant Walter Lynch, detach- 
ment troops A 5th U. S. cavalry stationed at 
Lubao. 

All had gone well until Senor Carabao had 
suddenly run amuck, dragging cart and all into 
the river. Most of the supplies had promptly 
floated away. The escort of Macabebe scouts 
had deployed along the banks and salvaged a 
portion, together with the cart and carabao. 

At the outbreak of the present war Shadd had 
joined the British remount service. He had 
seen much service around Salonika, Gallipoli 
and the Dardanelles. However, he was fed up 
on the far east and was then en route to Lon- 
don for settlement, thence home to Sammie 
Land, which he had not seen since sailing away 
from San Francisco on the Transport Dix back 
in 1900. 

Safe as a church. Thus was the channel 
steamer Normannia regarded by at least one pas- 
senger. This may have been true. At any rate 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 109 

she was more densely packed with humans, men 
and women, than any church I have ever visited. 
Seats of any kind were at a premium. As for 
rooms and berths, there was absolutely nothing 
doing for ordinary folks. Even some of the Red 
Cross nurses were compelled to sit up all night. 

The Normannia was a speedy craft, and she 
darted across the channel at full belt, running 
without a single light. The lookouts were more 
numerous and more vigilant than on any ship I 
had so far been aboard. 

I had crawled beneath a large military auto- 
mobile covered by an immense tarp, hoping to 
get a little rest. One of the boys, in crawling 
over this machine, had pressed the electric horn, 
which emitted a loud raucous honk. Instantly 
the deck guard had grabbed everybody in sight,, 
thinking a signal of some kind had been given. 

I was hauled "out from under" and had con- 
siderable difficulty in convincing the luny sol- 
diers that I was just seeking a place to sleep. 

The stewards and cooks were surely hustlers. 
That morning going into Southampton we were 
served with a good breakfast of ham and eggs,. 
potatoes, hot bread and coffee. 

At Southampton we came in contact with two 
crews that had been torpedoed in the channel 
the preceding forty-eight hours. One, a crew of 
Norwegians, had been shelled in the lifeboats. ) 
Only four of a crew of twenty-one had survived. 
They had been rescued by a destroyer and were 
then en route to London. 

Somewhere we had picked up another pris- 



110 TORPEDOED IN 

oner. I had first noticed him on account of the 
Oerman uniform and the British aviator's cap 
which he wore. 

I was told that he had been captured while 
laying mines from a hydroplane. Passing the 
customs and military inspectors, with but little 
delay, we boarded a special train and arrived 
in London at 12:10 P. M. 

At Waterloo Station, London, we were met byj 
a naval officer, who immediately conducted the 
entire party to the refreshment room, where we 
were plentifully supplied with sandwiches, cakes 
and hot tea. As they say over there, this place 
was conducted by "proper ladies." 

These ladies were certainly very earnest in 
their work, and took precautions that no one 
was slighted. The German flying man came in 
for some hot reproof from one of the ladies. 
However, he made no comment, and in turn 
declined the tea and cake proffered him. 

There, and elsewhere, I noticed the great 
change that had occurred in England since my 
last trip there in 1915. The phoney class racket 
had entirely disappeared. Now folks were 
"what they were," and seemed to realize that 
all would have to work together to win the war. 

London, December 17th. 

For the past two days we had been playing 
hide-and-go-seek over the City of London. Quar- 
tered in Belgrave Road, S. W., we had made 
four trips to the Board of Trade via East 
Aldgate, then back to Oxford Circle to the 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 111 

American consul's office, then back to Charing 
Cross, change for Victoria station and home. 
This routine never varied. We knew the tube 
stations by heart (here I would like to say that 
the London subways are superior in both equip- 
ment and service to either Paris or New York). 

"Are you Americans f" inquired an elderly 
gentleman, while we were waiting one day at 
Charing Cross. I informed him that we were. 

"Well, you are a mighty tough-looking lot," 
said he. Before I had time to assemble an ade- 
quate reply the party had moved out to board 
the train. 

Although each man of our crew had at least 
thirty pounds due him, the authorities positively 
refused to advance a cent. Also, each man was 
entitled to £7, 10s clothing money, which we had 
been told would be paid in London. There they 
told us we would get this in New York. How- 
ever, at New York nobody knew a thing about 
it, and to date I have never heard of a single 
person that did. 

As we were to leave at 11:45 for Liverpool, 
we decided to take the money matter in our own 
hands, consequently Dave Lewis and I appealed 
to the American consul. 

Now these were busy days at the consulate. 
In addition to the vast mass of detail work en- 
tailed by the war, many officers were returning 
home. Most of these had short time in which 
to reach their ships. Then, too, all civilians to 
and from Europe and the continent must have 
their passports vised here. 



112 TORPEDOED IN 

I felt sure if we could reach the consul-gen- 
eral, Mr. Skinner, he would fix us up. This, 
however, would be some job. Many people were 
waiting for just that same opportunity. 

"Hold my hat till I see what that officer 
wants,' ' said " Blacky' ' Lewis, pressing his 
battered top-piece into the hands of the colored 
gentleman guarding the stairway leading to the 
consul's office. 

At the top of the stairs, after momentarily 
passing from view, "Blacky" returned and mo- 
tioned as though my presence was also desired. 
Passing the colored man without comment, I 
joined him and we entered the first door at 
hand. This proved to be the office of Mr. Reid, 
vice-consul. Mr. Reid appeared mildly surprised 
at our unusual entrance, but inquired our busi- 
ness at once. Now, "Blacky" is some talker, 
and the way he told our troubles to that vice- 
consul made me want to slip out unnoticed and 
go away from there. At the climax of his story 
he walked over and threw open the window, and 
pointing down at the men who were lined up 
along the pavement, he said: "There are the 
men that have travelled for two weeks without 
a cent. Some of them have no underwear or 
socks. None have overcoats. The British gov- 
ernment owes us more than three months' pay 
and has refused to advance a single penny. 
iWe are leaving for Liverpool to-night en route 
to New York. So, as a last resort, we have ap- 
pealed to you. We do not believe that our gov- 
ernment would ask us to travel across the At- 



THE MEDITERRANEAN 113 

lantic in midwinter clothed as we are," and so 
on. The vice-consul was visibly affected. After 
just one glance at that crowd he grabbed a tele- 
phone and said something that evidently made 
somebody sit up and take notice. At the end of 
the conversation we knew that the money was 
waiting for us at the board of trade. All we 
had to do was to go down there and claim it. 

Liverpool, December 18th. 

From the Line Street Station to the White 
Star Hotel, where we put up for breakfast, con- 
siderable interest had been aroused as to the 
identity of the line and ship that was to trans- 
port us to New York. The naval officer who had 
accompanied us from London would not give 
out the slightest hint. This man was en route 
to the north of Scotland with transportation for 
a crew that had been torpedoed and landed 
there. He had been detailed on this sort of 
work for several months and had been on the 
go night and day. Although he resided in Lon- 
don, he had not been permitted to visit his home 
for over two weeks. 

Pier after pier of the many lines were passed 
by as we sped along on the elevated on the way 
to our ship, some with regret, others with en- 
tire satisfaction. Far up the Mersey opposite a 
lone, almost isolated pier, we detrained. The 
mystery was solved. Just before us lay the 
largest British ship afloat, the giant four-fun- 
nel, triple-screw steamer Olympic, of the White 
Star line. Now, however, she was known only 



114 TORPEDOED IN 

by number, and had changed her former gay; 
travel dress for a cloak of gray. 

Some time during the early morning hours 
we had dropped down the River Mersey and out 
to the Irish Sea. 

The wasp-like destroyers which had hugged 
the lee side of the giant liner the night before, 
now were darting hither and yon like pointers 
beating a game trail, for these waters were in- 
fested by submarines the year round. More ships 
had been torpedoed here than anywhere in the 
world. 

Past Paddy's Rock, the coast of Scotland just 
off our starboard bow, while on the other hand 
the quaint old City of Belfast spread along the 
shores of the Emerald Isle seemed near enough 
to dispel the fear of danger from any source. 
Two trawlers had joined in the patrol. Over- 
head and flying low were two dirigibles, their 
long basket cars filled with observers scouring 
every yard of the blue water beneath for the 
first sign of the sea asp, on past Lough Swilly 
and the north coast, the monster ship dropped 
her escort and, rushing at full speed into the 
north Atlantic, headed for America. 

The Olympic carried but few passengers: per- 
haps a dozen civilians, a score of officers, mostly 
Canadians, a detachment of the Royal Corps, 
and two ladies; our party and three detach- 
ments of blue jackets — seventy-five in all. These 
latter were en route to the States to take over 
new destroyers. They had many tales to tell. 



THE MEDITEBRANEAN 115 

One detachment had been aboard the Jacob 
Jones, the first American destroyer lost. 

"Are we allowed on the promenade deck?" I 
inquired of a passing steward. "You may go 
anywhere on this ship except the bridge/ ' he 
replied. 

Although our tickets read first-class admiralty 
passengers, we were assigned to first cabins on 
E deck 'midships. Our mess-room was the first- 
class grill in peace times. 

After an uneventful trip of six days, we 
passed up the Ambrose channel and into New 
York harbor December 25th. During the voyage 
of one hundred and four days from the time 
we cleared the Virginia capes aboard a dingy 
tramp, until we had returned on a palatial 
steamer that Christmas day to our homeland, we 
had not lost a single man. 



THE END 



WAR STORIES 



WHERE MIGHTY BATTLE ROARS 

The correspondent of the Daily Neivs and 
Leader of London sends from Ostend this graphic 
story of the scenes where one of the greatest bat- 
tles in the world 's history took place : 

"Taking advantage of the lull we got ont of 
Namur early this morning, taking crossroads and 
lanes in front of the Belgian and French lines. 
The allied forces were pushing the Germans back 
under great guns placed along the northern line. 
The fields and low hills were alive with moving 
troops, columns of cavalry with light guns moving 
into position and long snakes of infantry. 

"An officer warned us in a lane to wait there. 
He said: 'WeVe run down some Uhlans in those 
woods.' We waited half an hour. No movement 
in the sunny fields, nothing to be seen. Then 
suddenly out of a wood we saw four horsemen 
dash and we heard the snap of rifle shots on the 
far side of a field. 

"The next instant there was a running fire of 
invisible muskets. Three of the horses fell. The 
fourth man fell from the saddle and was dragged 
through the stubble, his foot being caught in the 
stirrup. One of the others got up, leaving his 
horse and walking a few steps. He then fell. 



6 WAB STORIES 

"We were accompanied by a squad to Mazy. 
There we were blocked for two hours. Slowly 
through the village (no peasants or children 
showing now) defiled regiment after regiment of 
French cavalry, glorious fellows with their hel* 
mets covered with dust, their colored cuirasses 
dull with rust, dusty trappings and uneasy horses. 
It was not the glitter of a parade, but the infin- 
itely more impressive savage, bronzed columns of 
war. 

• "A line of Belgian artillery, then light horse 
and lancers, and finally cyclists and a detachment 
of the Eed Cross ambulances passed up the lanes 
out to the hills with a sort of rustling, intense 
silence. There was no drum nor music. This is 
war. For many of these grave and bronzed men, 
with here and there a fierce negroid African, we 
were the last link with the life of the towns. In 
a few days, perhaps in a few hours, they will be 
lying in long, nameless trenches in the fields.' ' 



WOULD HAVE DIED TO A MAN 

A correspondent of the Dernier e Heure sent 
back to Brussels from the front writes of the 
fighting he . saw as follows : 

"The fighting started at Geetbetz at dawn. 
At 3.30 a. m. a German aeroplane flew low 
over our front. Several volleys were fired and 
the aeroplane fell within the German lines. After 
several feints the attack developed" about 6 
o'clock. Strong forces of German cavalry and 
infantry, supported by artillery, including ma- 
chine guns, poured down on the village and a 



WAR STORIES 7 

furious battle was soon raging all along the seven- 
mile front. 

1 ' While the Belgian cavalry were acting as 
infantry behind the earthworks part of the Ger- 
man cavalry got behind them and shot the horses. 
Inch by inch the ground was fought. Hundreds 
of Germans were slain. In the relentless move 
forward the Belgian defenders suffered rather 
serious losses. 

"At Bubingen the resistance was equally 
praiseworthy. In a trench where seven cavalry- 
men were making a great fight, Lieut. Count 
Wolfgangen Durel was struck by a bullet in the 
head. His companions pressed around him as he 
fell. 'It's all up with me/ he said. ' Leave me 
and do your duty.' He breathed his last a few 
minutes later. 

"At this point two Belgian squadrons, about 
240 men, showed magnificent bravery. They held 
2,000 Germans back. In spite of the superior 
numbers the enemy had no distinct advantage 
over this handful of determined fellows. They 
would have died to a man, but their mission >of 
holding the enemy in check for a few hours ter- 
minated when the retreat was sounded.' ' 



PARIS, GRAVE AND GAY 

War incidents which show how the French pre- 
sent a smiling front in the face of the war are 
related from Paris: 

At the Gare de L'Est, the eastern railway sta- 
tion where troops by the thousand were leaving 



S WAR STORIES 

for the German frontier, wives, mothers, sisters 
and sweethearts met and wept in multitudes. 
But a French soldier turned the tragedy into 
comedy. On a large cardboard he imitated the 
signs announcing the destinations of trains in 
time of peace and hung it on the military special. 
It read : 

"Holiday excursion to Berlin." 

Whereupon the women dried their tears and 
laughed. 

A woman, her face very white, came out of 
one of the municipal offices at which official in- 
formation is given of the death or injury of 
French soldiers. Four sons had left her a few 
days before to join the colors. Another woman 
came up to her and said : 

"Have you good news of your sons? My Jean 
is safe." 

"Yes," the first mother replied, "they are all 
safe. They are safe in the arms of the Father. 
I am proud to give all to the cause." 



WHY RUSSIA NEEDED AUTOS 

The Petrograd correspondent of the Daily Mail 
telegraphed : 

"At the last interview which Prince Hohen- 
lohe, the Austrian military attache, had with the 
Russian military authorities before the war he 
expressed surprise that the Russians were requi- 
sitioning so many automobiles. 

"Your roads are so bad," he said. 

"But yours are so good," was the reply. 



WAR STORIES 9 

WHEN THE CRUISER AMPHION WENT 
DOWN 

Here are some additional details of the sink- 
ing of the British cruiser Amphion when she hit 
a mine laid by the Germans off Harwich : 

"It was 6.30 o'clock when the Amphion struck 
the mine. A sheet of flame instantly engulfed the 
bridge. The captain was rendered insensible and 
he fell to the floor. As soon as the captain re- 
covered consciousness he rang to the engineers 
to stop the engines, which were still going at revo- 
lutions for twenty laiots. As all the forward part 
of the Amphion was on fire it was found impos- 
sible to reach the bridge or flood the fore maga- 
zine. 

"The ship's back appeared to be broken and 
she was already settling down by the bows. All 
efforts therefore were directed to placing the 
wounded in places of safety in case of an explo- 
sion and in getting the cruiser in tow by the 
stern. 

"By the time the destroyers had closed in it 
was clearly time to abandon the ship. The men 
fell in for this purpose with the same composure 
that had marked their behavior throughout. All 
was done without hurry or confusion and twenty 
minutes after the cruiser struck the mine the men, 
the officers, and lastly the captain had left the 
ship. 

"Three minutes after the captain had left an- 
other explosion occurred. This enveloped and 
blew up the entire fore part of the vessel. The 
effect of this showed that the Amphion must have 



10 WAR STORIES 

struck the second mine, which exploded the fore 
magazine. Debris falling from a great height 
struck the rescue boats and the destroyers and 
one of the Amphion 's shells burst on the deck of 
one of the destroyers, killing two Englishmen and 
one German prisoner.' ' 



SHELLS BURST IN WHEAT FIELDS 

The firing at Tirlemont and Louvain is de- 
scribed by the Ostend correspondent of the Lon- 
don Express, who witnessed it from a church 
tower at Tirlemont first and later proceeded to 
Louvain. He says: 

" About 1 o'clock came the sound of the first 
German gun. The artillery had opened fire. 

' ' From the church tower it was possible to see 
distinctly the position of German guns and the 
bursting of shells. The Belgians replied from 
east of Louvain. It was a striking sight to the 
accompaniment of the ceaseless thud, thud of 
bursting shells with their puffs of cotton-like 
smoke, tearing up peaceful wheat fields. 

"Gradually working near, the shells began to 
strike the houses in Tirlemont. This was a sig- 
nal for the populace to flee blindly. The scene 
was like the rushing of rats from a disturbed 
nest. The people fled in every direction except 
one. 

"I moved down to Louvain, where everything 
seemed peaceful. The people sat in the cafes 
drinking their evening beer and smoking. Mean- 
while the Belgian troops were retiring toward 
Louvain. By midnight the town was in the throes 



WAR STORIES 11 

of a panic. Throngs of refugees had begun to 
arrive, followed later by soldiers. By 11 o'clock 
the Belgian rear guard was engaging the enemy 
at the entrance to the town. 

"I remember watching a black-clad Belgian 
woman running straight down the middle of a 
road from the Germans. Behind her came the 
retiring Belgian troops, disheartened but valiant. 
This woman, clad in mourning, was the symbol of 
the Belgian populace. All about Tirlemont and 
Louvain the refugees continually interfered with 
the work of the troops/ ' 



RIDERLESS HORSES IN LOUVAIN 

A Central News correspondent who saw the 
fighting near Louvain writes: 

"The roar of cannon is still ringing in my 
ears. The Belgians had a strong position around 
Louvain. The Germans advanced by three differ- 
ent roads. The defenders held out until the Ger- 
mans brought their heavy artillery into play. 
Then the Belgians evacuated to save the beautiful 
old place from destruction. 

"Louvain to-day presented a wonderful if ter- 
rible spectacle. Bleeding, riderless horses gal- 
loped into town. With them came the Belgian ad- 
vance guard who had been in action. 

"Thirty Gardes Civiques, shut up behind a 
w r ooden barrier without arms, exclaimed pas- 
sionately at their enforced peacefulness. Home- 
less crowds surged aimlessly about the streets. 
Now and then farmers cycled furiously into the 
town to complain of houses occupied or horses 



12 WAR STORIES 

stolen. The Belgian outposts were twenty-seven 
miles away and the place undefended, so nothing 
could be done. 

"The utter, hopeless agitation of a population 
unable to do anything for itself , forced to surren- 
der home after home and forbidden to resist, was 
a very painful sight. It cannot occur often, even 
in this war. 

' ' Undefended towns when abandoned by the sol- 
diery generally have warning first. But these 
Uhlans seemed to have dropped out of the sky, 
and when the Belgian civilians looked about they 
found their own army gone. • ' 



GERMANS SHOT NONCOMBATANTS 

A Times correspondent says that the laconic 
reports of the French Minister of War give little 
idea of the desperate struggle that occurred 
around the villages along the Lorraine border. 
Point after point was taken and retaken, he says. 

He gives the following story of the fighting at 
the village of Badonviller in France, west of 
Schirmeck, as told by the villagers: "The vil- 
lage was occupied by a battalion of chasseurs as 
a covering force was prepared for defense by 
numerous trenches. The battle began on August 
10. The Germans bombarded the village, com- 
pelling the chasseurs to evacuate it. The latter 
retired on Celles, and afterward took up a posi- 
tion on Donon Ridge. 

' i After nightfall the Germans increased the 
bombardment, and the inhabitants sought refuge 
in cellars, as a continuous rain of shells kept 



WAR STORIES 13 

wrecking the houses and setting them afire. It 
was a terrible sight. Women fell on their knees 
and prayed, while children cried piteously. 

"The chasseurs retired, defending every house, 
foot by foot, and making the Germans feel their 
fire. The sun rose on a village in ruins. It had 
been under bombardment fifteen hours. When 
the Germans entered, they fired first on all the 
windows and down loopholes into the cellars. No 
corner was spared/ ' 



SIX SHEEP FOR BELGIAN QUEEN 

Wiring his experiences in Brussels, the corre- 
spondent of the London Daily News said : 

"I was stopped by an enormous crowd of refu- 
gees flocking along the Brussels road, on foot 
and in vehicles and by Red Cross cars. The sight 
was pitiful. Of the people leaving their homes by 
far the greater number were women. Many of 
them had young children along whose fathers 
were at the front. 

"Fear and ignorance have seized the mob. As I 
was going out a peasant fired his double-barreled 
gun at my motor, mistaking my fishing hat for a 
German helmet. The shot blew the tail lamp to 
pieces. To prevent far worse trouble for him, I 
stopped the car and got the gun from him and 
broke it across the breech, for undoubtedly a 
German soldier will retaliate on any civilians who 
use arms. 

"Brussels is now curiously quiet. Big crowds 
are gathering round the stations to watch the 
wounded passing through. I do not think the 



14 WAR STORIES 

panic will be great. A gendarme told me of one 
old woman who arrived at the barricades driving 
six sheep. She did not want the Germans to 
have them. She was willing the Belgian soldiers 
should have them if they would keep her safe. 

" 'Perhaps,' she added, 'the Queen and princes 
might need some mutton.' 

"Of the defenses at Antwerp it is not neces- 
sary to speak. They are as nearly impregnable 
as any can be. Details of fighting are of course 
difficult. One can get no soldier who knows what 
happens outside his own experience. The field 
guns seem to have done deadly work on the ad- 
vancing infantry. The policy of shooting at offi- 
cers was kept up as at Liege. 

"As I went to Antwerp early in the morning 
a great German monoplane with curved wings, 
and fan-shaped tail followed the railway, keeping 
exact pace with the express train from Brussels 
till we were halfway to Antwerp. The movement 
of vast bodies of troops in secret is now impos- 
sible with these military eyes everywhere in the 
skies. ■ ' 



THE MARCH ON TO BRUSSELS 

Alfred Stead, correspondent of the London 
Daily Express, sends from Ostend this narrative 
of two press photographers who saw some of the 
German advance on Brussels: 

"At Louvain, where our automobile arrived at 
7 o'clock in the evening, everything was as quiet 
as usual, with the residents sitting drinking their 
bocks at a cafe in the square. Then some Ger- 



WAK STORIES 15 

man prisoners were brought in and the suffering 
fellows were jolting and bobbing about in ordi- 
nary wagons, enduring agonies. Firing was 
heard in the distance, and from Tirlemont the 
troops came in, retiring in good order. The 
troops were in good spirits. 

"All the way to Louvain the photographers ? 
automobile passed a human stream. In the town, 
what a change ! It was deserted, the only sign of 
life being the last of the refugees who were leav- 
ing for* Brussels. 

"Toward the Tirlemont road there was some 
rifle firing which drew nearer," ' said the photog- 
raphers, continuing their narrative. "Shells be- 
gan to fall among the houses, many of which took 
fire. The Germans were almost in Louvain at 
midday. The rear guard of the Belgians defend- 
ing the railway bridge was engaged in firing 
heavily on the enemy. Riderless horses came 
along, both German and Belgian. These were 
caught and mounted by civilians. A barricade 
was seen in the dust of the road as in a fog. 

"Then there was more heavy rifle firing, some 
of which seemed to come from houses. Reports 
that the Germans were not taking prisoners and 
the knowledge of what had happened in other 
Belgian towns made it seem probable that, house 
firing was going on. 

"At some barricades on the roads German 
troops and refugees arrived simultaneously, mak- 
ing a defense impossible. On the road to Brus- 
sels was an endless procession, fed as they went 
by inhabitants of the villages and countryside. 

"At the cross roads there passed toward Mech- 
lin a procession of artillery, cavalry and infantry, 



16 WAR STOEIES 

with dog mitrailleuses, fit but tired and dusty. 
Only the dogs of the mitrailleuses looked fresh 
now. Along the roadsides were refugees resting. 

"Three men of the 9th Regiment had come 
from Aerschot, where the town was burning. 
They had lost their regiment and asked to be 
taken to Brussels. These men, of the famous ;. 
shooting regiment which so distinguished itself ' 
at Liege, gave to us a very different idea of the 
shooting of Germans. They said the rifle shoot- 
ing of the Germans was bad. Nearly all killed 
by the Germans were shot in the head or the 
upper part of the body. Their own officer was 
shot through the nose. 

"In Brussels at 3 o'clock on Tuesday after- 
noon there was absolute quiet. A big crowd was 
before the Gare du Nord awaiting news, but there 
was no excitement. Belgian aeroplanes passed, 
flying toward the Mechlin and Louvain line. Fir- 
ing was soon heard, but it was difficult to say 
from what direction. But the inhabitants of 
Brussels could not leave their city." 



ODDS TEN TO ONE NEAR AERSCHOT 

Describing the fight at Louvain and Aerschot, 
where a handful of troops kept the Germans at 
bay while the main Belgian army reformed, the 
correspondent of the London Daily News writes : 

"Dawn on Wednesday morning saw the Ger- 
mans hotly attacking the trenches that had been 
filled up during the night with fresh men. Part 
of them were of the famous Liege field force that 
had decimated the Germans who approached the 



WJ ES 17 

trenches before the Liege A . ts. They had begged 
to be sent back to Liege to meet the enemy there. 
This could not be done, but they had their oppor- 
tunity now — a desperate one, it was true, for 
each of these men knew that he was marked down 
to be sacrificed if necessary in the interest of the 
general plan of defense. 

"Two German aeroplanes flying audaciously 
low swept over the trenches to see how they were 
held. Then almost immediately afterward the 
German artillery got the range of the trenches 
and commenced bursting shrapnel over them. 
The infantry machine guns were quickly at work, 
and the little band of defenders settled down to 
keep the enemy's masses of troops at bay as long 
as possible. 

" By 6 o 'clock the attack was general along the 
whole line, but particularly violent in front of 
Aerschot, a pitiless, determined onslaught in 
which the German commanders showed the same 
disregard for the loss of their men as elsewhere. 

"Two of the heroic regiments from Liege bore 
the brunt of the attack in positions north and east 
of the town. They were outnumbered ten to one, 
but stuck to their positions with the courage of 
desperation and inflicted tremendous losses on the 
Germans. Their own losses were terrible. These 
trenches were bought and held with blood." 



BAYONET CHAEGE UP ALSACE HILLS 

Details of a terrific battle in Upper Alsace 
have been received by the London Daily Chronicle 
in special messages from Basel. 



18 WAR STOEIES 

"The battle was attended by great loss of life 
on both sides. The fortunes of battle varied dur- 
ing two clays. At first all seemed to go well with 
the French, and on the second day the tide turned 
in favor of the Germans, who had about one hun- 
dred guns on the hills, some eight miles from 
Basel. They wrought havoc among the French 
infantry, who made brilliant bayonet charges in 
their efforts to carry the hills. 

"The French batteries at Altkirch vainly strove 
to silence the German guns. The slaughter was 
very heavy. The French fought desperately to 
frustrate the Germans ' attempt to cut them off 
from communication with Belfort and succeeded 
in their effort to reach a frontier village. 

"On the third day the French forces, summon- 
ing all their energies in incomparable general as- 
saults at the point of the bayonet, drove the Ger- 
mans from all their advanced positions, and ten 
minutes after the last Bavarian battalion had 
beaten a retreat a brigade of French Lancers, 
with several companies of Colonial Turcos, re- 
entered Muelhausen singing the ' Marseillaise. ' 
The French army, intrenching itself, occupied a 
strong front, to which it dragged a large number 
of cannon and stores and ammunition from Bel- 
fort. " 



POLICE DOGS USED ON AMERICANS 

William J. Chalmers, of Chicago, describes his 
trip with his wife and maid and some friends 
from Carlsbad to Buchs in Switzerland : 



WAR STORIES 19 

At Budweis they were arrested and their pass- 
ports examined. Five miles further on the road 
was blockaded by fallen telegraph poles and 
twenty gendarmes commanded by a boy stepped 
out and placed cocked pistols and rifles to the 
Americans' bodies and ordered them to surren- 
der. The gendarmes had heard that French spies 
were crossing to Russia with $25,000,000 in motor 
cars. 

At Freistadt Count yon Sedlitz ignored the 
passports and ordered the party searched to the 
skins, including the women. He examined their 
clothing, took their baggage away, ransacked it 
for papers, took off the automobile tires, exam- 
ined the inner tubes, then brought in the police 
dogs to get their scent, acting with the utmost 
insolence. 

Mr. Chalmers demanded to be allowed to tele- 
graph to the Mayor of Carlsbad. This was per- 
mitted and the party released the next morning. 

At Salzburg the party was detained five hours, 
but treated with kindness and a military pass 
was given by an archduke and a general. 

At Landeck a civil official ignored the military 
pass, but yielded when the threat was made to 
appeal to the archduke. 

The party was forced to carry a civilian to 
Feldkirk. On an appeal to the military there the 
civilian was sharply reprimanded and made to 
walk back. 

Afterward the party arrived safely at Buchs. 



20 WAR STORIES 



MORASSES HOLLAND'S FRIEND 

That Holland is determined and prepared to 
defend its neutrality is evidenced by the state- 
ment from the pen of a Rotterdam correspondent 
of the London Standard. "Holland," he says, 
* ' has a trusty friend in the water behind its dikes. 

"Holland is well prepared against an invasion 
of its frontier on the German border, about 200 
miles long, and the northern portions could easily 
be defended by the filling with water of numerous 
morasses and bogs. 

"The coast along the North Sea, owing to the 
want of harbors, is practically inaccessible and the 
Zuyder Zee being shallow is capable of being 
closed by fortified works outside of Heider. Forty 
miles of the eastern front is now defended by the 
fortresses Muiden and Naarclen in the center of 
the Utrecht region, and eighteen forts aid the 
batteries toward the south of Gorkum. 

"Then there is a closed canal system arranged 
in such a manner that the whole region of Muiden 
and Gorkum may be flooded for miles. This is 
easy, as the greater portion of the land in the 
area to be flooded is below the sea level. The 
Dutch, however, are not satisfied with these pre- 
cautions, as the water courses might freeze as in 
the past. Therefore behind the Muiden- Gorkum 
line seven block forts or fortifications have been 
erected at intervals of two miles, and there are 
also fortifications at Niewerhus. 

"Behind the water line of defense there are 
more block forts at intervals of two or three miles 
strengthened with batteries. 



WAR STORIES 21 

"A block fort is a redoubt intended only for 
quick-firing guns of light caliber and is not con- 
structed with the idea of resisting heavy pro- 
jectiles, which, owing to the broad stretches of 
water, could only with difficulty be used. 

"The fighting forts are protected by concrete 
roofs and iron cupolas from the fire of howitzers 
and mortars. 

( * They are also supplied with artillery capable 
of resisting siege guns. 

u Ina similar manner the Dutch are protected 
equally along the southern frontier from Gorkum 
to Brielle. 

"As it is estimated that every kilometer re- 
quires for its defense 1,000 men, about 120,000 
men are required for this region. This is the 
precise strength of the present Dutch army, 
which should be able to defend this portion of 
Holland against forces double its strength. ' ' 



ENGLISH GIRL WOULD BE AIR SCOUT 

Writing in the Petit Parisien, a correspondent 
from Dijon tells of the alarm caused recently by 
a mysterious aeroplane apparently pursuing a 
group of six other aeroplanes on the way to Dijon 
from the southern center. Soon after their ar- 
rival at Dijon the stranger landed near the mili- 
tary aerodrome. The mysterious pilot, on being 
interrogated, proved not to be a spy, but a young 
English girl, who had donned a uniform in the 
hope that she might aid France. She is now 
being detained, pending the arrival of her par- 
ents. 



22 WAR STORIES 



THE BUSY AEROPLANES 

A paragraph in the Excelsior gives details of 
a 160-mile raid along the frontier by Pegoucl in a 
standard unarmored eighty-horsepower Bleriot- 
Gnome monoplane with M. Monternier as a fight- 
ing passenger. Starting at dawn last Tuesday, 
they made many valuable observations and de- 
stroyed two important convoys with incendiary 
bombs and 100-pound shells. They flew low, from 
1,300 to 1,500 meters, owing to their heavy load 
of nearly 800 pounds of explosives, enough oil and 
gasoline for four hours, two carbines and ammu- 
nition. They returned to Paris simply to obtain 
another machine, their own having ninety-seven 
bullet holes in the wings and having been struck 
twice by fragments of shells, once on the stabilizer 
and once under the steering wheel. 

OSTEND IN PANIC AS FOE CAME 

"Gay Ostend is utterly transformed by the 
shadow of war," writes the correspondent of the 
London Standard. "It is crowded from end to 
end with refugees of all nationalities, who are 
clamoring for an opportunity to escape seaward. 
Never have the streets been so thronged, and one 
might have thought it a fete day but for the 
strained and anxious faces of the crowds. 

"All the large hotels in Ostend are ready on 
the receipt of instructions to open their doors as 
hospitals and all necessary arrangements have 
been made to receive the wounded. Early this 
morning a number of wounded Belgian soldiers 



WAR STORIES 23 

were taken by boat to an unknown destination in 
order to prevent them from being made prisoners 
by the Germans. 

' 'Many hundreds of refugees have taken shel- 
ter in the bathing machines on the beach, while 
others are encamped on the race course which 
adjoins the dike. The King's summer palace, 
which looks out over the sea, has also been turned 
into a hospital. Side by side with all these scenes 
of war it is a striking contrast to watch the 
crowds of children paddling and playing war 
games on the sand. 

"At 9 o'clock this morning all the men of the 
Civil Guard were disarmed, and the Burgomaster 
issued a proclamation to the inhabitants urging 
them to be calm and offer no resistance to the 
invading Germans. 

"The Maritime Railway station was held by 
Belgian soldiers this morning, but they will be 
removed by boat if the Germans enter the town. 
The station was full of boxes of coin and bank- 
notes, which were being guarded by the soldiers, 
pending their transfer to steamers for Folke- 
stone. I am told that all the bankers in Ghent, 
Bruges and Ostend have sent all their treasure 
to England for safety. 

"In a conversation with a wounded Belgian of- 
ficer I heard some stirring stories of the bravery 
of the Belgian troops who were engaged in resist- 
ing the advance of the Germans beyond Louvain. 
He related how, when the order for retreat was 
given, he and his fellow officers had great diffi- 
culty in persuading their men to obey the com- 
mand. The bugles were sounding the retreat, but 
the soldiers would not leave the trenches and con- 



24 WAR STORIES 

tinued firing on a much larger force of Germans, 
who were attacking them. This officer ran along 
the lines shouting to the men that they must obey 
orders and retreat ; but with violent oaths against 
the detested Germans they continued to fight, with 
the result that all at this particular spot were 
killed. The officer himself was wounded just after 
his last effort to withdraw his men. ' ' 

AUSTRIAN CRUISER SHOT TO PIECES . 

Describing the naval engagement in the Adri-, 
atic in which the cruiser Zenta was sunk, a writer 
in the Cor Here d' Italia says : 

"A flotilla of Anglo-French torpedo boats was 
steaming out to sea after recoaling and revic- 
tualling on the Piraean coast when it met other 
warships of the Allies with their decks already 
cleared for action coming from Malta. The com- 
bined fleet proceeded toward the entrance to 
Cataro Harbor. 

' ' When they were approaching it the British 
torpedo destroyers which headed the flotilla 
sighted the Austrian protected cruiser Zenta and 
three smaller war vessels doing blockade duty. 
Before they were discovered the allied flotilla 
opened fire upon the enemy's cruiser, which, being 
taken wholly by surprise, was slow in replying. 
When at last the Zenta began to return the fire 
it did so at long intervals, with its shots very 
wide of the mark. . 

"In the meantime the gunners of the Anglo- 
French fleet were tearing ugly rents in the Zen- 
ta' s flank and within four minutes had flooded her 
engine rooms. The other three Austro-Hunga- 



WAR STORIES 25 

rian vessels — torpedo boats — then began racing 
away with many dead aboard. 

"Seeing that the Zenta was foundering rapidly 
while its crew was intent on seeking a way of 
escape, the largest of the English torpedo boats 
went alongside and rescued 200 marines who were 
on the point of drowning. 

' ' Fifty of these men subsequently succumbed to 
injuries received in the battle. Besides these 200 
were wounded by lively rifle fire. ' ' 



AEROPLANES GUIDED UHLANS 

From the Daily Telegraph's Dunkirk corre- 
spondent: "The Germans seem to be directing 
their march on three points. In the north they 
have pushed across to Antwerp, under the shel- 
ter of the guns of which the Belgian army which 
has retreated from Malines has retired. A sec- 
ond body approached the vicinity of Ghent, riding 
close up to the city. The Uhlans were preceded 
by two German aeroplanes, which were in quest 
of the whereabouts of any armed Belgian force. 
The appearance of the Uhlans practically at the 
gates of Ghent created something very nearly ap- 
proaching a panic among those inside the city. 

"Those who had no pressing business in the 
city commandeered every kind of vehicle, from 
automobiles to carts drawn by dogs. Here were 
military officers in automobiles, citizens rich and 
poor, influential and humble, town councillors — 
everybody bent on making his escape as fast as 
possible toward Bruges. 

"I interviewed several of the officers, and they 



26 WAR STORIES 

told me that, while the city was still free, the 
Uhlans had come in from the south, and a larger 
force was hourly expected. They believed that 
the occupation of the city by the Germans was a 
question of only a few hours.' ' 



BLEW UP FORT AND DIED A HERO 

The Paris Ministry of War issued the follow- 
ing communique concerning the holding out of the 
Liege forts : 

"The Chaudefontaine fort at Liege was the 
scene of an act of heroism which brilliantly af- 
firms once more the valor of the Belgian army. 

"Major Nameche commanded the fort whieh 
controls the railway from Aix-la-Chapelle to 
Liege via the Venders and Chaudefontaine tun- 
nel. The fort was bombarded continuously and 
very violently by the Germans. When it was only 
a heap of debris and the commander judged that 
resistance was impossible he blockaded the tun- 
nel by producing collisions between several loco- 
motives which had been sent into it. Then he 
set fire to the fuses of mines in the tunnel. 

"His task thus done, Major Nameche did not 
wish to see the German flag float ever over the 
ruins of his fort. He therefore exploded all the 
remaining powder and blew up everything, includ- 
ing himself. Such an act of heroism is beyond all 
comment. ' ' 



WAR STORIES 



BRITISH "TOMMIES" COOL IN BATTLE 

The coolness and nerve of the British soldier 
on the firing line is the subject of a cable mes- 
sage to the Central News of London: 

44 The shooting of the British infantrymen on 
the firing line was wonderful. Every time a Ger- 
man 's head showed above a trench and every time 
the German infantry attempted to rush a posi- 
tion there came a steady, withering rifle fire from 
the khaki-clad men lying in extended formation 
along the wide battle front. Their firing was 
not the firing of nervous men shooting without 
aiming; rather it was the calm and careful marks- 
manship of men one sees on English rifle ranges 
firing with all the artificial aids permitted to the 
most expert. 

"When quick action was necessary the men 
showed no nervousness; they showed the cool, 
methodical efficiency for which the British army 
is noted. 

"If the British lost heavily, the Germans must 
have lost terribly. One of the German prisoners 
said: 'We never expected anything like it; it 
was staggering. ' 

"The British troops went to their positions si- 
lently but happily. There was no singing, be- 
cause it was forbidden, but as the men deployed 
to the trenches there were various sallies of 
humor in the dialects of the various English, Irish 
and Scotch counties. The cockney was there with 
quips about 'Uncle Bill/ and every Irishman who 
went into the firing line wished he had money 



28 WAR STORIES 

to buy a little Irish horse, so that he might 'take 
a slap at the Uhlans. ' 

"As for the cavalry, the officers declare, their 
charges against the Germans were superb. They 
charged as Berserks might have done. They gave 
the Uhlans the surprise of their lives." 



5,000 GUESTS IN SMALL TOWN 

This story of a thrilling trip by a party of 
American tourists in Finland is told by one of 
them after their safe arrival in Stockholm: 

"Our party left Stockholm on July 31 on a 
steamer for St. Petersburg but was stopped by a 
Russian warship and compelled to return to 
Hango, where we were lodged in a hotel. The 
steamer was taken in charge by a Russian war- 
ship and blown up in the harbor channel. At 
the same time several cranes and other harbor 
works were dynamited to block the channel to 
the Finnish harbor. The explosions made a spec- 
tacular sight for the Americans. 

' ; Our party was unable to leave until August 3 
because the roundhouse and other buildings near 
the railway station were in flames. 

"Starting for Stockholm by train, we traveled 
in cars already overcrowded with refugees. Ar- 
riving at Hyvinge we found at least 3,000 per- 
sons waiting for the next train north. The town 
was already filled and people were sleeping on 
the staircases of the overflowing hotels and in 
the parks. We finally found lodging in a sani- 
tarium outside of the town. The next day we con- 



WAR STORIES 29 

tinned our trip in a train loaded with Germans 
who had been expelled from the country. 

"We next arrived at Seinajoki, a hamlet near 
Tammerfors, which boasts of only one hotel but 
was trying to entertain 5,000 strangers. Every 
private house was filled to its capacity, and we 
would have been compelled to spend the night in 
the streets had it not occurred to the manager 
of the hotel to suggest that we proceed to Nico- 
laisadt, a seaport fifty miles to the west. 

"We took this good advice and found comfort- 
able lodgings in that place. We also had the good 
fortune to discover an American freight steamer y 
on which we were permitted to sail on August 5. 
The voyage was dangerous, as all the beacon 
lights had been removed from the passage out- 
ward, which is . narrow and made hazardous by 
shoals. 

"Two other steamers left port at the same 
time. The first was commanded by a Russian, 
pilot. It ran aground and was wrecked. The 
other vessel narrowly escaped the same fate. Our 
steamer, however, got safely clear and we arrived 
without accident at Hernosand, Sweden.' ' 



CHARLEROI A CITY OF DEAD 

Describing the entry of the French into the 
unhappy town of Charleroi, whence, after previ- 
ous fighting, they drove the Germans across the 
Sambre, a Times correspondent writes: 

' ' Outside an inn was to be seen the dead figure 
of a German officer with his head bowed over a 



30 WAE STOEIES 

basin and soap lather dry upon his face, where 
he had been shot in the act of washing. 

" There was another who lay across a table, 
while a cup of coffee which he had been in the 
act of raising to his lips at the moment when 
death found him lay broken on the ground. 

" In every part of the city houses were smoul- 
dering or in flames. Every cellar was occupied 
by the terror-stricken inhabitants. This is the 
account given of the struggle for Charleroi by the 
French troops which took part in the operations. 

" After listening to these accounts the corre- 
spondent heard the town was surrounded by Ger- 
man troops. Anxious to ascertain the truth of 
this report, he started in the direction of Namur. 
A few miles out of Philippeville he met a Belgian 
officer and the paymaster-general of Namur, who 
told him that the town of Namur was occupied by 
Germans. It had been subjected to a furious 
bombardment, and the fire of the enemy had been 
so well regulated that the first few shots had 
silenced two of the forts." 



HANSI EEBUKES HIS CAPTOE 

Hansi, the Alsatian caricaturist who was ar- 
rested by the Germans some months ago because 
of his pro-French sentiments, escaped and fled 
to France to avoid imprisonment. He is now in 
a French regiment acting as an interpreter. The 
German officer who had caused his arrest was 
the first prisoner brought before him. The officer 
complained of the treatment he had received and 
Hansi replied : 



WAR STORIES 31 

"It was certainly better than you gave me at 

Colmar. ' ' 



"GAVE GERMANS WHAT FOR" 

Philip Gibbs,*the London Daily Chronicle cor- 
respondent, describing his railway journey from 
Paris to Boulogne, says: 

"On the way we fell into many surprising and 
significant scenes. One of these was wiien we 
suddenly heard a shout of command in English 
and saw a body of men in khaki with Red Cross 
armlets suddenly run along the platform to an in- 
coming train from the north with stretchers and 
drinking bottles. A party of English wounded 
had arrived from the scene of action between 
Mons and Charleroi. 

"We were kept back by French soldiers with 
fixed bayonets, but through the hedges of steel 
we had the painful experience of seeing a num- 
ber of British soldiers with bandaged heads and 
limbs descending from the troop train. They 
looked spent with fatigue and pain after the jour- 
ney, but some of them were sufficiently high spir- 
ited to laugh at their sufferings and give a hearty 
cheer to the comrades who came to relieve them 
with medical care. 

1 * I had a few words with one of them and ques- 
tioned him about the action, but like all British 
soldiers he was very vague in his descriptions, 
and the most arresting sentence in his narrative 
was the reiterated assertion that 'we got it in the 
neck.' 

"I understood from him, however, that the 



32 WAR STORIES 

British troops had stood their ground well under 
terrific fire and that the Germans had been given 
'what for.' 

"I saw the British soldier on this journey in 
many unexpected places and adapting himself to 
his unusual environment with his characteristic 
phlegm. I saw him at dawn in small camps, sur- 
rounded with haystacks and farmyard chickens, 
drinking the fresh milk offered to him by French 
peasant women, with whom he seems to have 
established a perfectly adequate ' lingua Fran- 
chise. ' 

"I saw him scrawling up the words 'hot water' 
and 'cold water' above the taps in French rail- 
way stations, carrying the babies of Belgian refu- 
gees, giving cigarettes to German prisoners and 
rounding up French cattle which in due time will 
be turned into French beefsteaks." 



LIGHT BRIGADE OUTDONE 

Returning from the front a correspondent of 
the London Times sends the following under a 
Paris date: 

"Near Charleroi I heard some stories of the 
bravery of the French soldiers. The Germans 
were bombarding the city. The' French troops 
made what amounted to a mediaeval sortie, but, 
finding the enemy in much greater force than was 
expected, were compelled to withdraw. The bom- 
bardment continued relentlessly, whereupon the 
French Turcos — picked troops from Algeria — 
debouched from the town, and, with a gallantry 
which surely must live in history, charged the 



WAE STORIES 33 

German battery, bayoneting all the German 
gunners. 

" Their losses, it is said, exceeded those of the 
Light Brigade at Balaklava. Of a whole bat- 
talion only 100 men, it is reported, returned un- 
scathed. Their bravery, however, was powerless 
against the German advance, which crept, foot by 
foot, through the outskirts of Charleroi to the 
very heart of the town. 

" There in the narrow streets the carnage was 
indescribable. A French infantryman told me 
that the roads became so jammed with dead that 
the killed remained standing upright where they 
had been shot, supported by their dead com- 
rades. ' ' 



WOMAN GETS COUNT'S SWORD 

This incident occurred during the fighting be- 
fore Charleroi, cables a war correspondent: 

"Yet another band of Uhlans was captured 
Sunday at the gates of Courtrai by a detachment 
of French chasseurs. Their chief officer was 
found to be Lieut. Count von Schwerin, a nephew 
of the Kaiser. The young commander is only 25 
years old and has been married only seven 
months. The officer commanding the French de- 
tachment found that the Count's sword was a 
present from the Emperor himself and bore an 
inscription to that effect on the blade. 

"The Count's saber, belt and helmet were 
brought to-day to St. Ouen and presented* to the 
wife of the officer who made the capture. The 
sword was blood-stained and its point twisted.' ' 



34 WAR STORIES 



"CRIME TO SPARE SPY'S LIFE" 

The correspondent of the Paris Temps, who 
had occasion to follow them on the way to the 
front, is loud in his admiration of the British 
soldiers' discipline, equipment and commissariat 
arrangements. But what he admired most was 
the summary methods of dealing with spies, every 
one convicted being shot immediately. A British 
captain explained his attitude through a French 
interpreter as follows: 

"You French pride yourselves on your human- 
ity in cases where humanity is a mere useless 
sentimentality. To spare the life of a spy by 
postponing his trial is a crime against our own 
troops. A spy may be able by some means to 
convey a harvest of news to his own side, so as 
to enable the enemy to surprise us precisely when 
we hoped to surprise him. In such cases, inop- 
portune indulgence may cost the lives of several 
hundreds of our own troops." 



CHANGE SCHMIDT TO SMITH 

Naturalized German shopkeepers in London 
are taking unusual precautions against possible 
boycotts. The following notice, posted on a bak- 
ery in Soho, is being copied by other dealers : 

"Two hundred and fifty dollars reward will be 
given to any charitable institution upon the dis- 
covery by any persons of adulteration in the 
bread sold in this establishment. 

"God bless our King and country. The pro- 



WAR STORIES 33 

prietor of this business wishes to inform the pub- 
lic that he is a naturalized British subject of many 
years standing and his loyalty is equal to that 
of any of the most gracious Majesty's subjects, 
whom he treats and respects as man to man." 

One German banker in South London, whose 
name was "Schmidt," promptly changed it to 
"Smith." 



CAMP FOR GERMAN SUSPECTS 

A huge concentration camp for the thousands 
of German suspects who have been rounded up 
by Scotland Yard in all parts of England is being 
constructed at Blackdown near Aldershot. The 
corral, which covers forty acres, is fenced by 
barbed wire strung on ten-foot posts. Outside is 
another circle of barbed wire entanglements and 
between the two sentries will pace with loaded 
rifles. 

The prisoners will be housed in quarters built 
of galvanized iron and will be fed on ordinary 
army rations. 



HEROISM OF PRINCE 

Wounded soldiers arriving at Frankfort-on- 
j Main relate that Prince Frederick Charles of 
J Hesse, the Emperor's brother-in-law, while lead- 
ing his regiment during a recent battle seized a 
flag from the hands of the wounded flag bearer 
and carried it on to victory. 



36 WAR STORIES 



"GOOD-BY, MR. FLYING MAN!" 

The London Daily Mail correspondent at Rouen 
obtained a description of the British fighting" from 
a wounded man belonging to the Berkshire regi- 
ment, who said: 

"We marched into Mons about 10 o'clock, and 
were just going to be billeted when the order 
came for us to fall in again and get a move on. 
We 'd been marching since 4 o 'clock. It had been 
blazing hot and still we were wanted. We were 
to advance under cover of artillery fire; but in 
the meantime the enemy were doing a bit of ar- 
tillery practice, too, so we threw up trenches and 
snuggled down in them. 

"They did not keep us waiting long. The Ger- 
man gunners were over a ridge two or three miles 
in front, and their shells soon came whistling* 
round us. I got what they call my baptism of 
fire, and at first I did not like it. In the daytime 
they had aeroplanes to tell them where to drop 
their shells. They were flying about all the time. 
One came a bit too near our gunners. He was a 
long way behind us. They waited and let him 
come on. He thought he was all right. Two thou- 
! sand feet he was up, I dare say. We could hear 
his engine. 

"He may have made a lot of notes, but they 
weren't any use to him or anybody, for all of a 
sudden our gunners let fly at him. We could see 
the thing stagger and then it dropped like a stone, 
all crumpled up. 'Good-by, Mr. Flying Man!* 
That was the end of him. 
* "In the dark they turned on searchlights. We 



WAE STORIES 37 

could see them hunting about for some one to 
pot at. Uncanny, that was, to see a blooming' 
big lane of light working round and round until 
it came to something. Then we heard the shells 
whistle, and when it came round to us and lit us 
up so that we could see each others faces, it made 
my blood run cold, just like I used to feel when I 
was a nipper and woke up and saw the light and 
thought it was a ghost, and we lay there won- 
dering what would happen next. ' ' 



WOMAN SAW ZEPPELIN WORK 

In the crowd of refugees arriving in London 
from Ostend were a dozen Americans, who made 
their way out of Antwerp with hand baggage only. 
Among them was Mrs. George Sparrow of New 
York, who had left Liege soon before that city 
was besieged by the Germans. She said : 

"In Antwerp I was aroused one night by a loud 
boom, which I imagined was caused by a cannon 
firing in the fort, but, looking out of a window, 
I saw a Zeppelin airship, apparently quite near. 
I could plainly hear the buzz of its motor. A 
bomb from it fell only a few blocks away, the 
explosion of which was followed by an outbreak 
of fire. 

"Many persons ran from the houses panic- 
stricken. Some of the women were hysterical. 
It was a fearful night. I got out of the city next 
morning with several other Americans and went 
to Ostend, where I spent last night." 



38 WAR STORIES 



SAW WOMEN SHOT 

A woman refugee from Framerie, near Mons y 
told the following story to the relief committee in 
Paris : 

"My husband is with the Belgian army and I 
was left with my three babies in our cottage. All 
was quiet until Monday, when the Germans came. 
They sacked and destroyed everything in the 
house. There remains of our poor village noth- 
ing but ruins. I saw one of the soldiers strike 
one of my neighbors in the breast with his sword. 
Then he flourished the bloody blade as though 
proud of the feat. Some women who had hidden 
in their cellars were shot. 

"A woman from Peronne le Bincher started 
out with one of her neighbors who carried a 
young baby at her breast. Suddenly the mother 
perceived that the little one was dead. She could 
not bear this new shock and lost her reason. 
When she was helped out of the train on reach- 
ing Paris she still held and was crooning over 
the body of her child. ' ' 



FOUGHT SINGING MARSEILLAISE 

A correspondent of the London Times at Ostend 
says : 

"I have obtained the following details of the 
siege of Namur from two Belgian soldiers. They 
informed me that the Germans attacked the town 
during a dense fog, and for two days the bom- 
bardment never ceased. The open town was re- 



WAR STORIES 39 

duced to ruins and the carnage among the in- 
habitants was appalling. The forts of Cognelee 
and Marchovelette were silenced by heavy Ger- 
man siege guns of 11-inch caliber. 

"The 148th French Regiment of the line, com- 
ing from Givet, proudly marched into the town to 
the strains of 'The Marseillaise ' — this during a 
murderous hail of projectiles. Alas, they had 
arrived too late ! Namur had become an inferno, 
and at midday the order was given to retreat." 



RODE INTO DEATH'S JAWS 

A correspondent describing the fighting before 
Malines says : 

"I could see dark blue masses of Belgian in- 
fantry falling back, cool as on a winter's morn- 
ing. Through a mistake, two battalions of car- 
bineers did not receive the order to retire and 
were in imminent danger of destruction. To 
reach them a messenger ■ would have had to 
traverse a mile of open road swept by shrieking 
shrapnel. A Colonel summoned a gendarme and 
gave him the orders and he set spurs to his 
horse and tore down the road, an archaic figure in 
towering bearskin. It was a ride into the jaws of 
death. 

"He saved his troops, but as they fell back the 
German gunners got the range and dropped shell 
upon shell into the running column. Road and 
fields were dotted with corpses in Belgian blue. 

"At noon the Belgians and Germans were in 
places only fifty yards apart, and the rattle of 
musketry sounded like a boy drawing a stick 



40 WAR STOEIES 

along the palings of a picket fence. The railway 
embankment from which I viewed the battle was 
fairly carpeted with corpses of infantrymen killed 
yesterday. I saw peasants throw twelve into one 



TROOPER BROKE GIRL'S JAW 

An old man sitting in a corner of a stack of 
straw told the following story to a correspondent 
in Paris : 

"People call me Jean Beaujon. I have a^ little 
wine shop just across the river from Liege, in the 
town of Grivegnee. When the mobilization order 
was announced my two sons, both fine fellows, 
went off to join their regiments. My daughters — 
I have two, this one here and another — remained 
with their old father." 

The girl he motioned to was a bright-faced 
girl of about 16, but only her eyes were visible, 
as the rest of her face was swathed in bandages. 
He continued: 

"You see her poor, dear face? Well, a German 
was the cause of that. Yv^hen they came they 
demanded wine, which I gave them, and one man 
tried to insult her. When she resented this he 
struck her and broke her jaw. 

' l My other daughter, becoming very tired after 
a time," he went on, "sat down by the roadside 
while this girl and I went on ahead to try to find 
some means of conveyance. A little further on we 
came upon a riderless horse, and after great dif- 
ficulty we both succeeded in mounting and went 
back to find my daughter. We had not been gone 



WAR STORIES 41 

more than half an hour, but when we returned she 
was no longer there.' ' 



WOMAN'S GRIM RETORT 

The wife of Gen. Metzinger, a distinguished 
French officer, whose son, a captain in the army, 
was recently wounded, was traveling from Switz- 
erland to Lorraine a short time ago, cables a Sun 
correspondent. She says she overheard a con- 
versation between two German officers during a 
rainstorm. 

One said: "Oh, I left my umbrella in a hotel 
in Paris.' ' 

The other replied: "Never fear, you will be 
able to go and get it next week." 

"Pray, do not trouble yourselves,' ' interrupted 
Mme. Metzinger; "my son, who is a captain in 
the French army, will undertake to bring it him- 
self." 

The two officers alighted hastily at the next 
station. 



"I KNOW NOTHING, SIR!" 

The Cologne correspondent of Der Tyd says : 
"An endless train rolls into the station at 
Cologne. In it have arrived 700 French prisoners 
taken at Muelhausen and Lagarde, Alsace-Lor- 
raine. They were dressed in red trousers and 
short, dark-blue coats. One could see that they 
had been in a fight. They were unkempt and 
badly in need of a wash and a shave. 



42 WAR STORIES 

"I remember having read somewhere that a 
French Senator had declared there was a great 
shortage of shoes for the French troops. I have 
seen 100,000 German soldiers going to the front, 
every one of them wearing a brand new pair of 
russet shoes, heavy enough to withstand any cam- 
paign. But there were no such shoes among these 
French prisoners. Their footgear was of a flimsy 
character and worn so badly that in most cases 
their toes were protruding. They ate greedily 
of bread and drank eagerly the tea and coffee 
that were handed to them. 

"The faces of most of them were blank and ex- 
pressionless. They conversed among themselves 
in an undertone. I asked one something about 
Lagarde. 

" 'I know nothing, ' he answered sullenly. 

"But after I told him he was speaking with a 
Hollander and not with a German he modified his 
reply to : * I will say nothing, sir. ' ' ? 



DRUNK WITH BATTLE JOY 

To the Paris Matin's correspondent at Ohar- 
tres, a colonial infantryman, wounded at Char- 
leroi, told his experiences in the battle : 

"We marched with our African comrades 
against the Prussian guard, " he said. "We ad- 
vanced in bounds amid the humming bullets, using 
every bit of cover we could. We felt intoxicated 
with the joy of battle. 

"I couldn't say how long the action lasted. 
All I remember is that we fired our last shot 
within fifty yards of the enemy. Then it was the 



WAR STORIES 43 

pitiless thrust of cold steel. It would have given 
us the victory, for however intrepid and steady 
are the troops we fight against there are no sol- 
diers in the world able to resist the Turcos' bay- 
onet charge." 

MODERN BULLETS DRILL CLEAN 

"It is comforting to learn that dozens of the 
wounded in the great conflict hardly suffer at all. 
Modern bullets are so small and hot and come 
with such velocity that they drill a hole even 
through the bone and disinfect as they pass, on 
account of the heat, ' ' cables a correspondent. 

"One man was shot through the pit of the 
stomach, the bullet having gone out at the back, 
just missing the spine. It was two days after 
the wound was received, and the man was sitting 
up and asking the doctor when he could go back 
and if it would be more than a week before he 
could again be at the enemy. 

"Some of the men did not know they were hit 
until several hours later, believing if they felt 
anything that it merely had been a knock. All the 
men are mad for bayonet work. They agree that 
it is only the German officers who stand up at all, 
and that the men are almost all bayoneted in the 
back, while the officers shoot with revolvers." 

THIRTY LEFT OUT OF 2,000 

The London Chronicle's Boulogne correspond- 
ent sends the personal story of a wounded soldier 
who has arrived there and who declared he was 



44 WAR STORIES 

one of thirty survivors of a British company of 
2,000, who were practically wiped out by the Ger- 
man artillery. His story follows : 

"We were five solid days in the trenches and 
moved backward and forward all that time with 
the varying tide of battle. It was about 2 o 'clock 
in the morning when the end came. Things had 
got quieter and our officers came along the line 
and told us to get some sleep. We were prepar- 
ing to obey when a light or something else gave 
us away and we found ourselves in an inferno of 
bullets. 

"We could do nothing. Down upon us the 
shrapnel hailed and we fell by the score. Prac- 
tically at the same time the 1 enemy's Maxims 
opened fire. We were almost without shelter 
when we were caught and we crawled along in 
front to find cover. Leave everything and retire 
was the order, and we did what we could to obey. 
I don't know how long it lasted, but when dawn 
came I could see not more than thirty men at the 
most were left out of about 2,000." 

OLD AND YOUNG ALIKE KILLED 

The Ghent correspondent of the London Daily 
News says in a despatch: 

1 1 1 have just been talking to the latest refugees 
from Malines. They left there yesterday about 
4 o'clock, during a lull in the fighting. Out of 
60,000 inhabitants, a business man among them 
told me, hardly 200 are left in town. Many are 
dead. The rest have fled. 

" 'It has been hell,' he said, 'since Monday. 
The town was shelled from both sides. The 



WAR STORIES 45 

cathedral, the square and half the houses are in 
ruins. Old people and young have been killed. 
Yesterday I found a quiet old gentleman of 83, 
whom I have known for years, lying in one of 
the trenches by the roadside, utterly exhausted by 
his flight. His face was in a pool of water. 

" 'Of a family of seven who were friends of 
ours not one is left. A shell struck their house 
on Tuesday morning, and all were killed. ' " 



LEFT TIP FOR POLICE 

"A fugitive from south of Flanders says that 
eight Uhlans appeared at Alost, telling the in- 
habitants that 4,000 more were in the immediate 
neighborhood, and if the townspeople did not keep 
quiet they would set fire to the place/ ' writes a 
correspondent. "They ordered that the town 
cash box be handed to them and found 13iy 2 
francs in it. They took 130 francs, leaving an 
I. 0. XL, 'Received for Emperor William II. y 
The one and a half francs were left as a tip for 
the police. 

"The whole situation around Ostend has 
changed. I must not say how many men have 
landed, but a Belt of country a few miles wide 
around the town was thoroughly scouted yester- 
day by men who softly whistled and sang 'My 
Little Gray Home in the West* and similar dit- 
ties." 

MINE KILLS WHOLE COMPANY 

"The truth about the withdrawing of the 
French troops from Alsace is that a body of 



49 WAE STORIES 

French — probably a whole regiment— fell into an 
ambush laid by three German regiments/ ' writes 
a London Standard correspondent. 

"The Germans hid themselves in forest, hedges 
and ditches until the French had piled up their 
arms and were lying down to rest on the ground. 
The Germans then opened a murderous fire. The 
French rushed to arms, but by the time they got 
hold of their rifles large numbers had been killed 
or wounded. None the less the remainder charged 
the Germans, inflicting severe losses. The confu- 
sion caused by the surprise attack nevertheless 
compelled the French to withdraw all their forces 
in that region behind the frontier line. 

"During the French retreat one regiment lost 
a rear company, which was blown up by a mine. 
Their comrades, marching ahead of them in the 
line of retreat, suddenly heard a terrific report 
and saw a column of smoke. When the smoke 
cleared away there was no rear company left. 
Every member had been exterminated. ' ' 



TITLED WOMEN PROUD OF SONS 

Five Englishwomen of title have addressed to 
the London press the following letter : 

' ' The undersigned have all near relations serv- 
ing with the colors. Most of them have near rela- 
tions who have borne and are bearing their part 
in the gallant and sanguinary battle which the 
British army is fighting against heavy odds on 
the northeast frontier of France. 

"We do not know what their fate has been, or 
yet may be, but if it is their fortune to die for 



WAR STORIES 47 

their country we shall not show our sorrow as for 
those who come to a less glorious end. 

"A white band around one arm will mark both 
our loss and our grief. But it will do more. It 
will express the pride we feel in knowing that 
those who are nearest to us and dearest have 
given their lives to their country's cause.'' 

The letter is signed as follows : Evelyn Devon- 
shire, Maude Lansdowne, Beatrice Pembroke, 
Edith Castlereagh, Elsie Kerry. 

These names stand for the Duchess of Devon- 
shire, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, the Coun- 
tess of Pembroke, the Countess of Castlereagh 
and the Countess of Kerry. 



"GERMANS A BRAVE LOT" 

"At times," a French soldier declared in a 
letter to his home, "we could hardly hold our 
rifles — they were so hot. Often we had in the 
trenches no cover of any sort. We had just to 
dig up a heap of earth a foot high or so, and, 
lying behind it, pelt away for all we were worth. 

"Our shooting, I can assure you, , was as steady 
as though our men were at the rifle ranges, and 
ever so often in front of our positions we could 
see the dead accumulating in great heaps. Far 
away on my right I saw at one time British cav- 
alry charging. We took the risk and looked up 
to see it. Upon my word, it was a magnificent 
sight. I was too far off to see what happened 
when they got home, which they did with mag- 
nificent dash. I don't think they lost heavily, at 



48 WAR STORIES 

least, not very heavily, for we saw them get back 
again." 

"And the Germans? What do yon think of 
them?" I asked. 

"Not a great deal as shots, but the way they 
came on again and again throughout the day was 
great. They are a brave lot, and it took us all 
our time to hold them back; they had such enor- 
mous numbers." 



COMMANDER GOES MAD 

A German officer sends the following account of 
the fall of Liege, says a Rotterdam dispatch to 
the London Daily Telegraph: 

* i Gen. Leman 's defense of Liege was noble, but 
tragic. During the early attack Gen. Leman 's 
legs were crushed by the fall of a piece of con- 
crete. Undaunted, he continued to direct his cam- 
paign, visiting the forts in an automobile ambu- 
lance. 

"The commander of one of the forts, at the 
moment when the bombardment was heaviest, 
went mad and began shooting his own men. He 
was disarmed and bound. The cupola of one of 
the forts was destroyed by a bomb from a Zep- 
pelin. Fort Chaudfontaine was blown into ob- 
livion by a German shell which dropped into the 
magazine. 

"Finally, Gen. Leman decided to make his last 
stand in Fort Loncin. When the end became in- 
evitable he destroyed the last gun and burned up 
the plans, maps, papers and food supplies. He 
was about to order all the men to the trenches 



WAR STORIES 49 

when a shell buried him beneath a pile of debris. 
He was unconscious when the fort surrendered." 



SHOT 11 TIMES; STILL FIGHTING 

A correspondent at St. Petersburg got the fol-, 
lowing incident through the censor: 

"A Cossack hero, Kuzma Kriachkoir*, who re- 
ceived eleven wounds in an outpost affair against 
the Germans and attracted the special attention 
of the Emperor while in the hospital at Moscow 
and petitioned to be allowed to return to his regi- 
ment, has arrived at Vilna, on his way to the 
front 

"A Russian who has just returned from the 
wilds of Novgorod Province, far from the rail- 
ways, gives an interesting account of the attitude 
of the peasantry toward the war and the action 
of the Government in prohibiting the sale of alco- 
holic drinks. He says : 

* ' 1 1 stopped at a little inn on the high road and 
ordered tea and something to eat. Some mujiks 
were there discussing their own affairs over the 
teapots. "The Lord be thanked, all Russia is 
happy now," said one. I was interested to know 
why, and was told in a surprised tone, "Why, 
they've shut the drink shops, and all our men are 
as rosy-cheeked as lassies now." ' " 

HERE'S A KITCHENER STORY 

There is an amusing story traversing London 
of a daily paper editor being summoned to the 
War Office in connection with an untrue ' 



50 WAB STORIES 

story that had been published, cables a corre- 
spondent. 

He would get another chance, said Lord Kitch- 
ener, but on the next occasion he would be ar- 
rested. 

"On what charge will you arrest me!" asked 
the editor. 

"I'll arrest you first,' ' answered Kitchener of 
Khartum, "and think about the charge after- 
ward. ' ' 

Is this the mailed fist ? 

THEY HELD UP THE KAISER 

The Berlin Neue Zeit says that since the mo- 
bilization the Doberritz road has been strongh 
guarded by a Grenadier Guards regiment froi 
Spandau. Last week the Kaiser motored alon^ 
the road, his chauffeur continually sounding the 
Emperor's special horn. Nevertheless, two sen- 
tries stopped the car, asking for the permit. 

The Kaiser said from the window of the car, 
"I should think my motor car might have beei 
known as imperial property.' ' 

"Well, your Majesty," replied one of the sen- 
tries, "we are commanded to bring to a standstiF 
and investigate all cars without exception." 

"SAY THAT I WAS UNCONSCIOUS!" 

This graphic incident of the fall of Liege was 
told a reporter for a Dutch paper by a Germai 
officer : 

"When the first dust and fumes passed awa] 



WAR STORIES 51 

we stormed the fort across ground literally 
strewn with bodies of the defenders. All the men 
in the forts were wounded. Most were uncon- 
scious. A corporal with one arm shattered val- 
iantly tried to drive us back by firing his rifle. 
* "Buried in debris and pinned beneath a mas- 
'sive beam was Gen. Leman. 'Le General il est 
mort,' said an aide-de-camp with gentleness. 
With care which showed our respect for the man 
w r ho had resisted us so valiantly and stubbornly, 
our infantry released the General's wounded form 
and carried him away. He recovered conscious- 
ness and said : 

H 'It is as it is. The men fought valiantly/ 
He added: 

u 'Put it in your despatches that I was uncon- 
scious. ' 

"We brought him to our commander, General 
Von Emmich, and the two generals saluted. We 
tried to speak words of comfort, but he was si- 
lent. He is known as the 'Silent General. ' Ex- 
tending his hand, our commander said : 

" 'General, you have gallantly and nobly held 
your forts.' General Leman replied: 

" 'I thank you. Our troops have lived up to 
their reputations.' With a smile he added, 'War 
is not like maneuvers. ' 

' ' This was a reference to the fact that General 
Yon Emmich was recently with General Leman 
during the Belgian maneuvers. 

"Then, unbuckling his sword, General Leman 
tendered it to General Von Emmich. 

" 'Mo,' replied the German commander with a 
bow, 'keep your sword. To have crossed swords 
with you has been an honor.' 



52 WAR STOEIES 

"And the fire in Gen. Leman's eye was dimmed 
by a tear." 

BAYONET CHARGES A RELIEF 

In the British hospital camp at Rouen many are 
lying very severely wounded, but all are cheerful 
and vowing vengeance. Women are sending up 
cart loads of fruit and flowers to the camp every 
day, and trainloads are also arriving, being taken 
by the Red Cross on trains and stretchers to the 
hospital camp. 

"A detachment of British arrived from the 
front this morning, ' ' says a despatch. "A major, 
badly wounded, was exchanging jokes with 
wounded soldiers and was smiling. He said all 
he wanted was coffee. Everybody immediately 
rushed off and returned with coffee and cider. 

"Members of the Fusilliers said that on 
Wednesday the regiment lined up for breakfast, 
when the German artillery started shelling them. 
Perfect order was maintained by the men, who 
began building earthworks, which, however, were 
knocked down as soon as finished. They were 
finally forced to retire owing to the Germans ' su- 
perior numbers and suffered the loss of three 
companies during the retreat. 

"British soldiers who fought at Mons said that 
while digging trenches they were forced to lie 
still under fire and do nothing but deliver a few 
bayonet charges. One man said : 

" 'A bayonet dash was a glorious relief after 
the galling inaction. Our fellows dashed at them 
as if doing a 100-yard sprint. The Germans 
looked sick at the sight of cold steel, as they al- 



WAR STORIES 53 

-ways do, then turned and ran, some throwing 
away their straps and rifles. We would have 
liked to chase them forever, but were called back. 
I got in a stab at a German and told him to pass 
it on to the Kaiser. ' 

"The order to retire was a bitter disappoint- 
ment. Another soldier said: 

"■'It was bad enough to lie still with German 
shells doing the nasty all around us, but to fall 
back and let the infantry pot us was the limit. 
I consoled myself with the thought that perhaps I 
would be in a procession when the Kaiser was 
taken in chains from the Mansion House to the 
Chelsea pensioners' home.' " 



"WOMAN" SPY FOOLED GIRL 

Miss Diana Leverick of New York, who arrived 
in Boston yesterday from England on the Cunard 
liner Franconia, told how she became acquainted 
with a German "woman" while on board a Med- 
iterranean boat bound for London who proved to 
be a German male spy in disguise and who later 
was shot. 

"Among the passengers was a refined, middle- 
aged German woman who gave the name of 
Mederhaus, " she said. "She bore every evi- 
dence of good breeding and made herself very 
agreeable to all of us. I became very much at- 
tached to her. She was so pleasant and affable 
that certain peculiarities of her gait and face were 
unnoticed. Her hands and feet seemed a trifle 
arge, but I liked her so well that I could see 



54 WAR STORIES 

nothing strange about her, although some of 
the other passengers began to comment upon 
her. 

"On the morning of our arrivalin London a 
messenger boy came aboard crying out, ' Tele- 
gram for Mrs. Niederhaus. ' The woman did not 
answer. Finally came an official and a squad of 
soldiers and she was led away to her cabin. We 
were amazed when soldiers locked themselves in' 
with her until we learned that she was really a, 
male spy. I read about her in the London Times' 
next day, the paper describing how 'she' was shot 
by the soldiers. ' ' 



A CITY OF DARKNESS 

Stringent measures have been taken in An1 
werp to insure perfect darkness. No light of any 
kind which can be seen from the outside 
is allowed in the houses. Blinds and cur- 
tains, both in front and at back, are closely drawn. 
Printing offices have to work by candle light. 
Pitch darkness reigns in the streets at night and 
those forced to be out stumble against one another 
as they grope their way along. 

To prevent a prohibitive rise in the cost of food 
all shopkeepers have been ordered to display a 
list of prices charged in such a position that all 
who pass can see it from the outside. Communi- 
cation with Malines has been restored and all the 
fugitives from that town have been ordered to 
return. 



WAR STORIES 55 



"I LOSE FEW BULLETS!" 

As an evidence of the indomitable spirit which 
is actuating the Belgians in their war against 
the Germans, here is a letter from a daring young 
man with a young wife and child who formerly 
was notorious as a poacher on game preserves. 
It was written in the siege of Namur while he 
was resting a moment: 

' ' A few weeks ago, ' ' the letter says in part, ! ■ I 
was in France working in the beet fields. But 
because the proud Prussians attacked our country 
I had to leave and could not bring home a few 
gold coins for my family. I am feeling as well as 
possible, am whole and sound, and hope, with 
God's help, to see my home once more. 

"The Prussians are poor shots. They don't 
know by a yard where they shoot, and when they 
see a bayonet they are so scared they just run. I 
have lost but very few bullets. When I aim for 
their noses, you can bet that they don't hear the 
bullets whiz by their ears. They get it right in 
the mouth. I never missed a bird on the wing, so 
how could I miss those square-head Uhlans? I 
settled more than fifty of them, and if God lets 
me live I'll cool off a few more. When they 
come we kill 'em like rats, meanwhile singing 
'The Lion of Flanders.' 

"Reverend Dear Father, while we send the 
Uhlans to the other country, please take care of 
my family and see that they may not suffer from 
hunger. Now I finish my letter to grab my gun 
and shoot Uhlans. X. 

"Formerly poacher, now Uhlan killer." 



56 WAR STORIES 



AIRMAN 'S THRILLING TRIP 

The following letter from a German military 
aviator to his parents is printed in a recent issue 
of the Brandenburger Zeitung: 

"Last Saturday night, while our company still 
lay in garrison, I received orders to start on a 
flight into the enemy's country at daybreak the 
following morning. The assignment was as fol- 
lows : From the garrison over a French fortress 
into France, thence westward to Maas to spy out 
land for French lines of communication and to 
fly back the entire distance of 300 kilometers 
(about 186 miles). 

"By way of preparation maps of the whole 
region were minutely studied till midnight. Next 
morning at cock-crow our Gotha-Taube rolled 
across the city square, then rose and headed west- 
erly. In half an hour we had reached an altitude 
of 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) above the town. Then 
we headed for the French border, and immedi- 
ately my observer, First Lieut. A., called my at- 
tention to little black puffs of smoke, and I knew 
at once we were being fired at by hostile artillery, 
so climbed to 2,000 meters (7,874 feet). 

"Next we noticed that three of the enemy's 
aeroplanes were pursuing us, but we soon outdis- 
tanced and lost sight of them. Later we heard\ 
that two of the enemy's aeroplanes had been 
brought down by our artillery. Both hands of one 
of the pilots were said to have been blown away 
by a shot. 

"With a threefold 'Hurrah!' we now flew over 
the border toward a battlefield of the war of 1870- 






WAR STORIES 57 

71, which we reached without any further un- 
toward incidents. Here we noticed long columns 
of troops marching from the south toward the 
northeast. We circled around the place and then 
started toward Maas. 

"We were now continuously fired upon. I saw, 
among other things, how a battalion of infantry 
stopped in the street and aimed at us. Silently 
and quietly we sat in our Taube and wondered 
what would happen next. Suddenly I noticed a 
faint quivering throughout the whole aeroplane; 
that was all. As I saw later, one of the planes had 
four holes made by rifle bullets, but without 
changing our course on we flew." 



THREW SHELLS OVERBOARD 

The London Daily Telegraph's Harwich corre- 
spondent gives further narratives of the Heligo- 
land fight gleaned from British sailors. They say 
that many of the German shells which made hits 
did not burst, and to that fact they attribute the 
comparative lightness of the British casualty list. 

"There were five shells in the boiler of the 

," said one of them, mentioning the name of 

a destroyer. "If one of them had burst — well it 
would have been all up with the ship." 

"What did you do with them?" he was asked. 

"Oh, we just shied them overboard. We've no 
room for such rubbish aboard our yacht. ' ' 

In another instance it is related that a shell fell 
on the deck of a British ship. There was no im- 
mediate explosion. The sailors rushed at it and 
pushed it into the sea. 



58 WAR STORIES 

One incident has been described which shows 
the grit of the German sailors. 

"We were hard at it with a German cruiser,' ' 
he said, "and she was in a bad way, on the point 
of sinking. We could see her decks were in an 
awful mess and her stern was in flames. It had 
been shot away. We could see only one man on 
the forecastle, but he was a plucky one. He 
hoisted a flag, and it was still there when the ship 
went down. I suppose he went down with her." 



DIED CHEERING EMPEROR 

An eye witness of the loss of the German 
eruiser Ariadne and the German torpedo boat de- 
stroyer V-157 in the fighting between British and 
German warships off Heligoland, relates the fol- 
lowing story of the fight : 

"The destroyer was surprised in a fog by a 
large number of British destroyers and sub- 
marines. When the speed of the German de- 
stroyer became affected by the English shells, it 
turned and confronted the enemy with the inten- 
tion of fighting to the end. Her engines, however, 
soon completely failed her, and she was blown 
up to prevent capture. Her crew continued firing 
until the boat disappeared beneath the waves. 

"The Ariadne attacked gamely, but a shell 
plumped her boilers, putting half of them out of 
commission. Despite this the fight continued. 
The quarterdeck of the Ariadne took fire, but 
those of her guns that were still capable of being 
worked continued shooting. 

"The forecastle of the Ariadne was soon ablaze. 



WAR STORIEb 59 

Her magazine was flooded, but the gallant vessel 
was doomed. Her crew was mustered and gave 
three cheers for the Emperor and sang the hymn, 
'The Flag and Germany Above All.' 

"The sinking of the ship probably was due to 
the explosion of her magazine. ' ' 



SAVED; THEN THROWN INTO THE SEA 

This little grim comedy is told by a correspond- 
ent of the London Evening News: 

"I heard of an incident which is said to have 
occurred when the British boats were busy pick- 
ing up German survivors of the fight in the Bight 
of Heligoland. A German officer was seen swim- 
ming, a line was thrown to him and he was helped 
on board, but his first action was to spit in the 
face of the British officer in charge. 

"A British sailor immediately flung the Ger- 
man overboard and another drowning German 
among the many within the boat's reach was 
helped into the vacant place." 



"FRENCH ARE VERY KIND" 

The American Embassy in Paris is in daily re- 
ceipt of letters written by dying German soldiers, 
forwarded to it by the French Government for 
transmission to Germany. One is from a German 
aviator who had fallen into the hands of the 
French. This man wrote: 

' ' Good-by, dear father and mother ; my leg has 
been crushed. The French officers are very kind. ' y 



60 WAR STORIES 

A postscript to this letter added by a French 
officer read: 

"At this point the brave fellow died; please for- 
ward this to his parents.' ' 



"I AM FIGHTING AGAINST MY SON!" 

A story is told to-day of the bravery of French 
women and men which is vouched for as true. 
Gen. de Castelnau and his three sons went to the 
front at the outbreak of the war and Mme. de 
Castelnau retired to the south. One of the sons 
was killed in the early fighting. 

When the news of his son 's death was conveyed 
to Gen. de Castelnau, he read the statement and 
then said quietly : ' ' Gentlemen, let us continue. ' ' 

When the news reached the country house of 
the family in the south the parish priest under- 
took the delicate task of conveying the news of 
the death of her son to Mme. de Castelnau. The 
priest tried to break the news to her but was so 
overcome with emotion that she guessed some- 
thing serious had happened. Mme. de Castelnau 
simply asked, "Which one?" meaning whether it 
was her husband or one of her three sons who had 
been killed. 

When the 35th Regiment entered Muelhausen 
an aged Alsatian offered the soldiers everything 
he possessed, pressing them to accept wine and 
food. After they had finished their meal he bade 
them farewell, saying : 

j 1 1 am now going to fight to kill my son, who is 
in the 40th Regiment of German infantry. " 



WAR STORIES 31 



WHO WAS THE WOMAN? 

A correspondent tells of a strange little war 
picture. He got mixed with a French regiment 
on the right. In returning to his own regiment 
he says he crossed a field and passed up a big 
avenue of trees. Halfway up the avenue was a 
German officer of lancers lying dead at the side 
of the road. 

"How he got there was a mystery,' ' the soldier 
said. i i We had seen no cavalry, but there he lay. 
Some one had crossed his hands over his breast 
and had put a little celluloid crucifix in them. 
Over his face lay a beautiful little handkerchief 
— a lady's handkerchief with lace edging. The 
handkerchief, too, was a bit of a mystery, for 
there wasn't a woman within miles of the place.' ' 



"WE' DON'T WANT YOUR KAISER!" 

"Go back to your Pomeranian grenadiers," 
writes Henri Berenger, the Frenchman, to the 
German aviator who flew over Paris yesterday. 
"Mimi Pinson is not for you. We don't want 
your Kaiser, nor your Kultur, nor your Kolossal, 
nor your capital. You are not even original. 
Wretched Prussian cuckoo, where did you get 
your wings 1 .. Who invented aviation, Germany or 
France? Who first crossed the Channel or the 
Alps, a German or a Frenchman? What did you 
bring under your wings that we should surrender 
to you intelligence, or liberty, or justice, or truth, 
or love?- Nothing of the kind. You brought 



62 WAE STORIES 

death — a bomb — that is all. That is why you will 
never have Paris. Paris is civilization in its 
beauty. You are barbarism in your ugliness. 
Possibly you may bombard us and burn our city, 
but we shall never surrender. Paris will be wher- 
ever the French flag floats, and in the end chante- 
cler will crow over the bloody nests of your 
crushed tyrants." 



KING HONORS BOY SCOUT HERO 

Georges Terpen, an 18-year-old Boy Scout of 
Liege, has just been decorated by the King of the 
Belgians and has received a commission in the 
army for the brilliant work which he has accom- 
plished since the beginning of hostilities. Young 
Terpen captured eleven spies, all of whom have 
been shot. Near Malines he killed one Uhlan and 
captured another, although he was suffering from 
a broken arm. 

Two fellow Boy Scouts, 16 and 17 years old, 
were executed by the Germans on the same day. 
Terpen declares that the only weapon he used 
against the German soldiers was a long knife. 



THOUGHT FOES WERE FRIENDS 

A corporal in a convoy of wounded at Cham- 
pigny is quoted as saying that in the fighting at 
Guise a regiment firing on the line heard the 
signal to cease shooting. Immediately in front 
of them the men of the regiment saw soldiers 
wearing caps like the English. 



WAR STORIES 63 

They advanced, cheering the English, and were 
met by a deadly discharge of rifle fire. The Ger- 
mans, he asserted, had used this subterfuge to 
draw the French on. 



"COURAGE; DELIVERANCE SOON!" 

The correspondent in Antwerp of an Amster- 
dam newspaper says that a French biplane ap- 
peared over Brussels Saturday and in a hail of 
German bullets twice circled the town, dropping 
hundreds of pamphlets containing the message: 
' 'Take courage; deliverance soon." 
The aviator then made ofT, after giving the 
spectators a daring performance of loop the loop. 



GERMANS TRICKED TO DEATH 

Wounded men in the hospitals of Boulogne re- 
lated to the London Express correspondent these 
incidents of the fighting between the British and 
Germans. One of the men, he says, told of a trick 
which the British learned in the Boer war which 
was carried out with deadly effect against the 
Germans. The story of the incident follows : 

"The enemy before sending their infantry 
against our positions opened a hot artillery fire. 
Our artillery replied at first warmly, and then 
gun after gun of the British batteries went silent. 

"What's up now?" I asked a comrade. There 
were a few minutes more of artillery firing from 
the Germans, and then their infantry came on in 
solid formation. We received them with rifle fire. 



64 WAR STORIES 

Still they came on and still we mowed them down. 
They were getting closer and we could plainly see 
the dense masses moving. Then suddenly the 
whole of our artillery opened fire. 

"You see, the cannon had not been silenced at 
all, and it was a trick to draw the Germans on. 
They went down in whole fields, for our guns got 
them in open ground and, of course, they soon had 
enough. It was impossible for those behind to 
come on past the dead." 



SIGNAL DREW FATAL VOLLEY 

The Hanover Courier prints this account by an 
eyewitness of the death of Prince Wilhelm of 
Lippe, who fell in the assault on Liege on Aug. 6 : 

' i After fierce fighting at close quarters we pro- 
ceeded successfully toward Liege. On the morn- 
ing of the 6th we succeeded in getting on the 
northern walls of Liege, where, however, we were 
completely surrounded by Belgian troops, who 
drew «ver closer around us and pressed us hard 
amid a hail of bullets. By order of his Highness 
our detachment formed a circle and we defended 
ourselves stoutly for some time, till at length we 
saw strong reinforcements coming to our aid. 

"In order to enable them to locate the exact 
spot where we were the Prince rose to a kneeling 
position, pointed with his sword to the approach- 
ing column and gave me, who lay a hand 's breadth 
away from him, on top of our flag, the order to 
raise the flag so that we might be recognized. 

i ' I raised the flag and waved it in a circle, which 
at once drew an extra hail of bullets from the 



WAR STORIES 65 

enemy. The flag was shot out of my hands, while 
the same volley wounded the Prince fatally in the 
breast and throat. His last words were, ' Remem- 
ber me!' " 



AMERICAN WOMEN'S ADVENTURE 

Arriving home from France Mrs. Webster J, 
Scofield of Holmes told of riding 120 miles impris- 
oned in a freight car, from Chatillon to Paris, 
when the railroads suspended passenger service 
to move troops. 

When she reached Chatillon, homeward hound, 
with two friends from Jacksonville, Fla., there 
were no trains to take civilians to Paris. They 
were told by a trainman that a freight car that 
stood on a side track filled with gun carriages was 
going to Paris, and that if they hid in it they could 
get through. 

Mrs. Scofield, with three other women and tw# 
men, took the trainman's advice. They had hid- 
den live hours in the darkness when a brakeman 
locked the door and they were practically prison- 
ers for six hours more, until a soldier heard their 
cries in the Paris freight yards and let them out. 



BOMBARDMENT OF— KISSES! 

When the British expeditionary army landed on 
French soil the natives went wild with joy and 
women overwhelmed " Tommy Atkins" with 
kisses. A letter received at London to-day by the- 
wife of one of the soldiers at the front declares t 



66 • WAR STORIES 

"You would have been jealous if you had seen 
the women, old and young, kiss us. I was kissed 
scores of times. The natives went frantic with 
joy when they saw us. The women screamed with 
joy as they hugged us. Many wept bitterly and 
then wiped away the tears and offered us small 
presents/ ' 



GERMAN ARMY WONDERFUL 

An eye witness to the entry of the victorious 
Germans into Brussels describes the advance as a 
wonderful sight. He writes as follows: 

"The German entry into Brussels was a won- 
derful and impressive sight. I have seen many 
military parades in time of peace, but never a 
parade on so vast a scale, which went on without 
a hitch. It was impossible to imagine that these 
men had been fighting continuously for ten days, 
or that they had even been on active service. 
First of all came six cyclists, then a detachment 
of cavalry, then a great mass of infantry, then 
guns and field guns and more infantry, then huge 
howitzers, then a pontoon train and then more 
infantry from 1.30 o'clock Thursday until Sun- 
day morning without a break. 

"The pontoon trains were especially impres- 
sive. They were carried upside down on trolleys, 
drawn by six horses. All cavalry horses as well 
as the horses of the artillery and commissary 
were in wonderful condition. The men also were 
very fresh and keen. Each company had a stove, 
the fire of which was never out. There was al- 
ways some hot drink ready for the troops and the 



WAR STORIES 67 

German soldiers told me that it is only this hot 
coffee and soup which kept them going on long 
forward marches. 

"The inhabitants of Brussels turned out by 
thousands to watch this endless procession of 
Germans as they marched by singing all sorts of 
songs and national airs. They sang in excellent 
tune, one company taking up the refrain as soon 
as another stopped. Like everything else their 
singing is perfectly organized. 

"An aeroplane kept its station ahead of this 
advancing horde and it signalled both day and 
night by dropping various colored stars. What 
these signals meant I do not know, but all move- 
ments of the troops were regulated by them. 

"I became overwhelmed after watching this 
immense mass of men marching by without a hitch 
for three days. I never believed such a perfect 
machine could exist.' ' 



HE WASN'T HER HUSBAND 

Mme. Gilbert, wife of the French aviator, was 
recently arrested near Clermont-Ferrand at the 
village of Paray-le-Monial, where she was in- 
formed her husband was being feted on his return 
from a successful raid. On her arrival she found 
her alleged husband an impostor — a warrant has 
been issued for his arrest, since the real Gilbert is 
at Dole — and she was challenged by a gendarme 
when trying to return home. Finding her without 
papers and carrying German uniform buttons, 
which she bought from prisoners as souvenirs, he 
promptly arrested her. Release was obtained 



€8 WAR STORIES 

with difficulty on the arrival of her father-in-law 
with the necessary information. 

COOL NERVE OF BELGIANS 

Stories of the cool nerve of Belgian soldiers 
tinder fire are being told everywhere by refugees 
and correspondents arriving from the battlefield 
in lower Belgium. The story is told of one volun- 
teer who returned after a skirmish with Uhlans 
and calmly announced: "Well, I killed two." 
Then as he filled his pipe, he added: 

"I hit one right there," putting his finger to his 
forehead. "His helmet went spinning and I 
picked it up later and saw the hole my bullet 
made. ' ' 

Clerks, brokers, and business men have been 
turned into fighting devils. The Belgians were 
not out of their uniforms for days at a time. 
Sleeping and eating in the trenches when they 
could, they became veritable vagabonds. Even 
when catching a few winks of sleep the men lay 
with their rifles on their arms ready for action. 

JOKE WHILE BULLETS FLY 

The London Daily Chronicle's correspondent 
telegraphs the following from Havre : 

" 'I don't know what has come over the Ger- 
man riflemen,' an officer said to me to-day, 'but 
our men have become almost totally indifferent to 
the German rifle fire. While it is going on they do 
their work singing, whistling and joking in the 
trenches. ' 






WAE STORIES 69 

" An army doctor who heard this statement was 
able to confirm it in a remarkable way. Of 500 
wounded who had come under his notice, or whom 
he had treated, only one was suffering from a rifle 
bullet wound. All the others had been hit by 
shrapnel bullets or bits of shells. 

"I met to-day a gunner who is in charge of a 
Maxim gun, and who at one time found himself 
right in the center and facing an oncoming Ger- 
man frontal attack. 

" 'But how we did mow them down,' he said. 
*The section in front of me must have consisted 
of 800 men, and every one of them got something. 
"We cleared the whole lot out, but from the flanks 
others closed up, and at last we had to run for it. 
We were forced to leave the gun behind, but, 
luckily, a well-planted German shell knocked it to 
bits before the Germans reached it.' " 



"AIM AT BUTTON, HIT GERMAN" 

Some striking stories told by wounded soldiers 
returning from France are given by the London 
Standard, among them the following : 

"The blue-gray uniforms of the Germans are 
hard to see at a distance," said a Yorkshire light 
infantryman, ' ■ and for concealing movements are 
more effective than our khaki, but it is surprising 
how quickly you learn to pick out such things as 
buttons, badges, armlets, and even peaks of caps 
or spikes of helmets in the sun and tell by them 
of the moving men you cannot see otherwise. 

* ' Aim at a button a mile off and you hit a Ger- 
man in the stomach, is what we say, and it's near 



70 WAR STORIES 

enough to the truth. The Germans are such stick- 
lers for rules that I have seen their artillery keep 
firing away at a position of ours after it had been 
occupied by their own men, and at the hospitals 
they find quite a number of Germans hit by their 
own rifle fire." 



WHAT HAPPENED? GOD KNOWS! 

The London Daily News prints a despatch from 
a staff correspondent describing the recent fight- 
ing around St. Quentin. The despatch written at 
St. Quentin and forwarded to London via Bou- 
logne, reads : 

"A battle is raging, with heavy fighting. It be- 
gan here Saturday, was continued yesterday, and 
was recommenced at dawn this morning. In a 
dense wood between St. Quentin and La Fere a 
number of people had taken refuge, peaceful peas- 
antry for the most part. The wood was raided 
by a band of German cavalry and, although the 
white flag was hoisted on the outskirts, not the 
slightest notice was taken of it. The undergrowth 
was as dry as tinder. The way to clear the screen 
was obvious, and the order was given to fire it. 
This was done and in a few moments the wood 
was a huge, raging fury of flames, roaring madly. 

"A priest engaged in Red Cross work who had 
struggled through from this desperate neighbor- 
hood told me this tale in the gray hours of this 
morning. 

" 'What happened to the people there V I 
asked. 



WAR STORIES 71 

" "What happened? The good God alone 
knows/ he replied as tears rolled down his face." 



THOUGHT SCOTS AMAZONS 

A never-ending source of wonder and delight 
to the French country folk are the kilted High- 
land regiments with the British expeditionary 
force. The Highlander in full gala rig, scarlet 
tunic, tartan phillibeg, with the gay ' ' sporan ' ' or 
pouch, white gaiters and big bearskin headdress, 
is a thing of beauty and joy forever at home, and 
even now when clad in khaki he is a remarkable 
sight for foreigners. 

The French could hardly believe their eyes 
when they saw the husky regiments wearing what 
appeared to be short petticoats. True, the gar- 
ment of khaki was like the jacket, but it was un- 
doubtedly a petticoat. The inhabitants of the 
country through which they are passing generally 
put them down as some wild troop of Amazons 
which the English keep for serious fighting. 
When told that the kilted warriors are really men, 
and Scotchmen, they remember the famous Scotch 
guards of the old French kings and shout ' ' Vivent 
les ecossais!" 

The bagpipes are another attraction and when 
the Gordons are stepping out to i ' The Cock of 
the North," or the Argyle and Sutherland^ are 
announcing their presence with "The Campbells 
Are Comm'," whole villages follow them for 
miles. There are four Highland regiments with 
the British army, the two above mentioned, and 
the Black Watch and Camerons. 



72 WAR STORIES 



MOTHER'S TRIBUTE TO SON 

"When Lieut. St. Aubyn, killed in the Heligoland 
naval battle, was buried the other day in London, 
Ms mother sent a wreath bearing the inscription : 

"To my darling boy. I thank my God upon 
every remembrance of you. ' ■ 

The following authentic incident of the Heligo- 
land fight is perhaps the most dramatio of the 
war. A British destroyer, having sunk an enemy, 
lowered a lifeboat to pick up German survivors. 
^Before the lifeboat returned a German cruiser 
came out and attacked her, forcing her to aban- 
don the lifeboat. 

The British crew was left alone in an open boat 
without food twenty-five miles from the nearest 
land, and that land the enemy's fortress, with 
nothing but fog and foes surrounding. Suddenly 
up popped a British submarine close by, opened 
the conning tower and took the British on board, 
leaving the German survivors alone in the life- 
boat. 



SAYS PRINCE TOOK HIS OWN LIFE 

Prince Frederick William of Lippe took his own 
life following a mistake of his regiment, according 
to Lady Randolph Churchill, formerly Miss Jen- 
nie Jerome of New York, who has arrived in Lon- 
don from Germany by way of Holland. 

"The true story of the death of Prince Fred' 
erick William of Lippe,' ' she said, "is that he 
committed suicide. He was commanding a Ger- 



WAR STORIES 73 

man cavalry regiment before Liege on August 4 
when his regiment, in the darkness of evening, 
nearly annihilated a German infantry regiment 
which it had mistaken for Belgians. The Prince 
shot himself, fearing to face the anger of Emperor 
William. His widow, with whom I am acquainted, 
was informed of his death on Aug. 14." 



"GET THE GUNS BACK!" . 

"A gallant deed was performed by Capt. F. 0. 
Grenfell of the 9th Lancers," cables a correspon- 
dent of the London Daily Mail. "He was hit in 
both legs and had two fingers shot off at the same 
time. Almost as he received these wounds a cou- 
ple of guns posted near by were deprived of their 
servers, all of whom save one were struck by the 
bursting of shrapnel. The horses for the guns 
aad been placed under cover. 

" 'We'll get the guns back!' cried Grenfell, and 
at that, with several of his men, in spite of his 
wounds, he did manage to harness the guns up 
and get them away. He was then taken to a hos- 
pital." 



THE IRREPRESSIBLE CAMERA MAN 

A correspondent sends the following by way of 
Antwerp : 

"Yesterday morning a little man wearing an 
American army shirt, a pair of British officer's 
breeches, French puttees and a Seaforth High- 
lander 's helmet, and carrying a camera the size of 



74 WAR STORIES 

a parlor phonograph, blew into the American 
Consulate in Ostend while I was paying a flying 
visit there. He announced that his name was Don- 
ald C. Thompson, a photographer from Topeka, 
Kan. Thompson made nine attempts to get from 
Paris to the front. He was arrested nine times 
and spent nine nights in prison. Each time he 
was taken before a military tribunal. Utterly ig- 
noring the subordinate officers, he would demand 
to see the commanding officer. He would grasp 
that astonished official by the hand and nearly 
wring it off, meanwhile inquiring solicitously af- 
ter the General's health and that of his family. 

44 'How many languages do you speak T I asked. 

" 'Three,' said he — 'English, American, and 
Yankee. ' 

"On one occasion he explained to the French 
officer who had arrested him that he was in 
search of his wife and daughter, who were dying 
somewhere on the Belgian frontier. The officer 
was so affected by the pathos of the story that he 
wept on Thompson's neck and sent him forward 
in a Red Cross automobile." 



SAW FIFTY ZEPPELINS 

William Parker of St. Louis, who arrived in 
London from Rumania last night, told of interest- 
ing things he had witnessed and passed through 
on his journey. He said : 

"When we got to Breslau the mining of the 
town's approaches was in operation and I had 
a good look at it. They were digging trenches 
about three miles outside of Breslau and burying 



WAR STORIES 75 

horrible looking bombs eleven inches in diameter, 
row after row, as far as I could see. They seemed 
to fear a Russian attack. 

"I was allowed the privilege of looking over 
their Zeppelins at Breslau, for use against the 
Russians. 

' ' There seemed to be fifty of. them, in tents with 
doors wide open. Operators, officers, men and 
equipment were all aboard, ready to start at a 
moment's notice. They have sure got a system. 
I also saw some^forty aeroplanes there. 

"From Breslau we had a slow but not uncom- 
fortable trip to Berlin. German officers who spoke 
enough * American ' to make themselves under- 
stood saw to it that we got coffee and food at sta- 
tions along the way. 

"You must know that ' American ' is now offi- 
cially recognized as a language. Signs up every- 
where say ' American spoken here.' The bill of 
fare no longer reads ' English roast beef,' but 
* Amerikanischer roast beef. ' So all along the line. 
It 's all American now, not English. ' ' 



JEWS BRAVE FIGHTERS 

A corporal and two privates of the Black 
Watch, all wounded, have just arrived in London 
from the front. They were surrounded by a 
crowd and cheered in the West End this morning. 
The corporal, telling how his regiment fought, 
said: 

■ ' In the thick of it we were singing Harry Lau- 
der 's latest. Aye, 'twas grand. All around us 
were the dead and dying. Every now and then 



76 WAR STORIES 

the German shells burst and as we peppered away 
at 'em we sang 'Roamin' in the Gloamin' ' and 
the 'Lass o' Killikrankie. ' " 

Somebody in the crowd asked: "What were 
the Jews doing ?" 

The Highlander replied: 

"Their duty. We had three with us, and bon- 
nier and braver lads I don't wish to see. They 
fought just splendidly." 

A private in the Berkshire regiment added : 

"We had ten in our company. They were all 
good fighters, but six won't be seen again." 



"KILL FOE OR WE WON'T MARRY!" 

All of Servia is enthusiastic in regard to the 
campaign for the conquest of territory from the 
Austrians. 

One of the most remarkable features is the ar- 
dent enthusiasm displayed by the Servian wo- 
men. Many of them have taken a pledge not to 
love a man who has not killed at least one of the 
enemy. 

A CLOSE CALL 

The correspondent of the London Chronicle 
says: 

"In — — the stationmaster, a brave old type, 
and one or two porters had determined to stay on 
to the last. 'We are here,' he said, as though the 
Germans would have to reckon with him, but he 
was emphatic in his request for me to leave at 
once if another train could be got away, which was 



WAR STORIES 7? 

very uncertain. As a matter of fact, after a bad 
quarter of an hour, I was put on the last train 
to escape from this threatened town, and left it 
with the sound of German guns in my ears, fol- 
lowed by a dull explosion when the bridge behind 
me was blown up. 

■ l My train, in which there were only four othei 
men, skirted the German army, and by a twist in 
the line almost ran into the enemy's country, but 
we rushed through the night and the engine driver 
laughed and put his oily hand up to salute when 
I stepped out to the platform of an unknown sta- 
tion. "The Germans won't get us after all,' he 
said. It was a little risky all the same. 

"The station was crowded with French soldiers 
and they were soon telling me their experience of 
the hard fighting in which they had been engaged. 
They were dirty, unshaven, dusty from head to 
foot, scorched by the August sun, in tattered uni- 
forms and broken boots, but they were beautiful 
men for all their dirt, and the laughing courage, 
quiet confidence and unbragging simplicity with 
which they assured me that the Germans would 
soon be caught in a death trap and sent to their 
destruction filled me with admiration which I can- 
not express in words.' ' 



WAITING FOR THE GERMANS 

A correspondent of the London Daily News 
cables his paper : 

"From all I hear of the progress of the Ger- 
man advance the Germans were in Amiens on 
Sunday. The city was evacuated and the railway 



73 WAR STORIES 

tunnel blown up. I judged it would be useful to 
visit the little town of Beauvais, twenty miles al- 
most due south of Amiens on the road from 
Dieppe to Gournay. 

"Crossing the bridge by the railway station, 
a French dragoon laughed when he saw our 
startled look at what rested below against < the 
bridge supports. They are waiting for the 
Germans. 

"The streets were strewn with broken glass 
bottles and barbed wire entanglements were coiled 
everywhere. The little place is in a hollow. One 
wanted but slight imagination to the flaming hell 
it could become at any moment. 

"It was growing dusk, and I suppose I have 
never before felt such an urgent desire to leave 
a town 



i ? 



STUCK TO THE BATTERY 

In a statement issued by the British War Of- 
fice the following incidents have been mentioned: 

1 i During the action at Le Cateau all the officers 
and men of one of the British batteries had been 
killed or wounded with the exception of one subal- 
tern and two gunners. These continued to serve 
one gun and kept up a sound, raking fire and came 
out unhurt from the battlefield. 

"On another occasion a portion of a supply 
column was cut off by a detachment of German 
cavalry. The officer in charge was summoned to 
surrender. He refused and, starting the motor 
off at full speed, dashed safely through, only los- 
ing two lorries." 



WAE STORIES 79 

HORSESHOER'S FEAT 

The Paris correspondent of the London Chron- 
icle telegraphs : 

f ' In the fighting at Compiegne, when the British 
captured several German guns, the Dragoon 
Guards did wonderful work. There was one tre- 
mendous cavalry charge, in which these dragoons 
-were accompanied by their farrier, armed only 
with his hammer, which he wielded with deadly 
effect, according to the men." 

"TOO COMMUNICATIVE" 

An amusing instance of the thoroughness of the 
German censor was shown by a letter received the 
other day by a woman whose husband, an Ameri- 
can business man, is temporarily detained in Ber- 
lin. 

The envelope was addressed in her husband's 
handwriting and was stamped with the censor's 
official seal. Inside the envelope was a slip of 
paper on which was scrawled in a queer-looking 
foreign script: 

"Your husband, madam, is well, but too com- 
municative. ' ' 



BOMB HIS CALLING CARD 

A correspondent of Le Petit Journal relates a 
characteristic interview with Jules Vedrines, the 
well-known airman, who already has done dis- 
tinguished service, but finds the service monoto- 



80 WAR STORIES 

nous because he is not allowed more activity. His 
work is confined to reconnoitering for the troops 
and artillery. He says: 

"If only they would let me go and leave my 
visiting card with Emperor William !" 



RETREAT OF DIPLOMATS 

"It was a unique sight/ * says the Paris corre- 
spondent of the London Daily Chronicle, "when 
the members of the foreign embassies and lega- 
tions quit Paris for Bordeaux. They left in the 
dead of night and their only illumination was 
moonlight. 

"There was Sir Francis Bertie, in a black suit 
and bowler hat, talking to the Italian Ambassa- 
dor, who, with Signor Tittoni, were distinguish- 
able figures in gray and with soft felt hats. My- 
ron T. Herrick, the American Ambassador, had 
come down with his wife to say good-by to his con- 
freres, and M. Isvolsky, the Czar 's envoy, was 
chatting with the Spanish Ambassador, who, like 
Mr. Herrick, is remaining in Paris to perform the 
duties of courtesy that fall upon neutrals at such 
a time. 

"The windows of each carriage of the special 
train were labeled with the names of the coun- 
tries whose representatives it was carrying off. 
There was even an inscription for the more or 
less imaginary republic of San Marino, but no 
one appeared to answer to this honorific name. 
There were the Persian Minister and M. Romo- 
nos, a black-bearded Greek, and the Russian mili- 
tary attache, in uniform, and les braves Beiges, 



WAR STORIES 81 

& As of servants, including a Chinese 

nnrc o was feeding a yellow baby that had 

coal hi. jk eyes. 

"At last a horn was blown and the train rolled 
away. 

"Say what yon like, it is no pleasant thing to 
see the world's delegates pack up their traps and 
leave the splendid city of Paris to its fate. ' ' 

"GERMANS WENT MAD" 

A priest of Termonde describing the destitu- 
tion of that town to a correspondent, said : 

"When the Germans attacked the town we had 
no guns. Our gendarmes and soldiers fought at 
two or three places and drove the Germans back 
for the moment, but with their numbers and equip- 
ment they could not help but win. Our men re- 
tired in good order and blew up the bridges as 
they retired. Nearly all the inhabitants left 
ahead of the troops. Some, including myself, 
stayed and crossed the river in boats yesterday. 

"The Germans had entered in the night and 
set the town afire. The German soldiers seemed 
to go mad. They ran about setting the houses 
alight and shouting, 'This is how we will burn 
Antwerp in three days!' Nobody seemed to be 
in command, but I suppose that the burning was 
ordered. ' ' 

WOMEN NURSES IN BREECHES 

"Among a party of nurses who left Folkestone 
for the front," says the London Daily Mail cor- 



82 WAR STORIES 

respondent, "were a number of women wearing 
riding breeches and spurs and long coats and hel- 
mets similar to those worn in the tropics. 

"Their duties will be to ride over the battle- 
field and look for the wounded and render first 
aid, after which other nurses will convey the 
stricken soldiers to the base hospital in motor 
cars. It is pointed out that many wounded have 
died owing to not having received immediate at- 
tention.' 9 

AUTO ROUGH RIDERS 

"Wealthy young Belgians have done great 
work," writes a correspondent from Antwerp, 
' l by dashing at the German lines in armored auto- 
mobiles, each of which carried a single machine 
gun. In one instance one of these cars stopped 
for lack of gasolene just as it reached a German 
patrol. A daring young Belgian jumped out and 
filled the tank, and although bullets fell about 
him, he reentered the car uninjured and the ma- 
chine started forward again, while the mitrail- 
leuse was working constantly." 



FIRST AID BY POLICE DOGS 

Police dogs are being used in this war in Red 
Cross work for the first time, says a Paris cor- 
respondent. They are reported to be giving ex- 
cellent results. They have been trained to dis- 
cover the wounded man and to bring his cap or 
another piece of his wearing apparel back to the 



WAR STORIES 83 

headquarters of the Red Cross, and then to lead 
a nurse to the place. 



FLEEING FROM PARIS 

Describing the flight from Paris, when the peo- 
ple feared the Germans were about to attack the 
capital, a correspondent says: 

"This great army in retreat was made up of 
every type familiar in Paris. 

"Here were women of the gay world, poor 
creatures whose painted faces had been washed 
with tears, and whose tight skirts and white stock- 
ings were never made for a long march down the 
highways of France. 

"Here, also, were thousands of those poor old 
ladies who live on a few francs a week in the 
attics of the Paris streets, which Balzac knew; 
they had fled from their poor sanctuaries and 
some of them were still carrying cats and canar- 
ies, as clear to them as their own lives. 

"There was one young woman who walked 
with a pet monkey on her shoulder while she car- 
ried a bird in a golden cage. Old men, who re- 
membered 1870, gave their arms to old ladies to 
whom they had made love when the Prussians 
were at the gates of Paris then. 

* ' It was pitiful to see these old people now hob- 
bling along together. Pitiful, but beautiful, also, 
because of their lasting love. 

1 i Young boy students, with ties as black as their 
hats and rat tail hair, marched in small compa- 
nies of comrades, singing brave songs, as though 



84 WAR STORIES 

they had no fear in their hearts, and very little 
food, I think, in their stomachs. 

"Shopgirls and concierges, city clerks, old 
aristocrats, young boys and girls, who supported 
grandfathers and grandmothers, and carried new- 
born babies and gave pick-a-pack rides to little 
brothers and sisters, came along the way of re- 
treat. 

"Each human being in the vast torrent of life 
will have an unforgettable story of adventure to 
tell if life remains." 



THEIR PICNIC SPOILED 

The French troops are brave and fearless bui 
too impetuous, says a correspondent of the Lon- 
don Daily Chronicle. He adds : 

"Careless of quick-firers, which experience 
should have taught them were masked behind the 
enemy's advance posts, they charged with the 
bayonet and suffered needlessly heavy losses dur- 
ing the fighting at Creil and Compiegne. One 
can only admire the gallantry of men who dare 
to charge on foot against the enemy's mounted 
men and who actually put a squadron of them to 
flight, but one must say again: 'C'est magnifique, 
mais ce n'est pas la guerre/ 

"There have been many incidents of heroism 
in these last days of fighting. It is, for instance, 
immensely characteristic of the French spirit that 
an infantry battalion, having put to flight a de-? 
tachment of German outposts in the forest of 
Compiegne, calmly sat down to have a picnic in 
the woods until, as they sat over their hot soup? 



WAR STORIES 85 

laughing at their exploit, they were attacked by 
a new force and cut to pieces." 



PAINT HORSES GREEN 

"The Russian Cossacks have painted all their 
white and gray horses green, making them har- 
monize with the foliage, so that their movements 
cannot be seen by scouting aeroplanes," says a 
London correspondent. This plan was first 
adopted by the British in the struggle with the 
Boers. 

ENTERED GERMAN HARBOR 

The correspondent of the London Standard 
tells how destroyers and submarines of the British 
fleet by close surveillance discovered the passage 
between the mines which the German destroy- 
ers used in* coming out to the North Sea. With 
that information a flotilla of submarines and 
destroyers proceeded to round up the German 
ships. When the operation was finished the Brit- 
ish vessels returned to their base with the excep- 
tion of one submarine. 

There was much anxiety as to the fate of this 
vessel, and as nearly a day passed without any 
news of her the fleet began to conclude she had 
been lost. Just as this fear began to be viewed 
as a certainty the submarine came calmly into the 
midst of the fleet and asked to be replenished. 

The excitement among the bluejackets at the 
return of the wanderer spread to every ship. The 
questions on every lip were, ' ' Where has she been 



86 WAR STORIES 

and what has she been doing? " The explanation 
was soon forthcoming, and all who heard it were 
thrilled at the daring feat accomplished by the 
commander and crew. 

The submarine actually had penetrated into 
the harbor of Bremerhaven, where she fired two 
torpedoes. The Germans were panic-stricken, in 
the midst of which the submarine went to sleep on 
the bottom of the harbor. For hours the ship and 
crew remained there while the harbor was being 
trawled, but the nets fortunately passed over her. 
As soon as he considered it was safe the comman- 
der gave orders to proceed out of the German har- 
bor, the submarine returning across the North 
Sea without mishap. 



HE KNEW CONEY ISLAND 

A newspaper correspondent made a motor trip 
to Brussels and tells of being ambushed by Ger- 
mans. He says : 

"We first sighted Germans when approaching" 
a railway grade crossing outside of Aerschoi. 
There were a hundred of them waiting for us be- 
hind a hedge, with rifles leveled. When a harp 
dred yards away an officer in the trailing gray 
cloak stepped into the middle of the road and 
held up his hand and called out : 

"'Halt!' 

"I jammed on the brakes. 

" 'Are you English?' the officer demanded none 
too pleasantly. 

" 'No, American,' I said. ; 



WAR STORIES 87 

"'I know America well/ lie said. 'Atlantic 
City and Niagara Falls and Coney Island. I have 
seen all yonr famous places. ' 

" Imagine standing in the middle of a Belgian 
road, surrounded by German soldiers who looked 
as though they would rather shoot you than not, 
and discussing the relative merits of hotels at 
Atlantic City with an officer of an invading 
army. ' ' 



"MORE WAITING FOR YOU" 

"Why, it's Kitchener!" gasped the wounded 
soldiers in St. Thomas 's Hospital, London, as the 
Secretary of State for War stepped in for a visit 
of inspection, says a correspondent. Here's his 
chat with a trooper of the Royal Irish Dra- 
goons .* 

I i How are you getting on ? ' ' asked Lord Kitch- 
ener. 

"All right, sir," answered Trooper Craig. 

"What's your regiment?" 

"The Irish Dragoons." 

i t How did you get that hand 1 ' ' 

I I My horse threw me and stamped on it, sir, just 
before it got killed by a shell in a charge in Bel- 
gium. ' ' 

"Ah, but you got into them, didn't you?" Lord 
Kitchener continued, with a knowing air. 

"Oh, yes, sir, we did," answered the trooper, 
with a laugh, in which Lord Kitchener joined. 

"There are some more waiting for you, you 
know," was Lord Kitchener's parting shot, and 
again the trooper laughed. 



88 WAR STORIES 



"YES, TAKE A PICTURE" 

A curious story in connection with the sacking 
of Louvain is told by a correspondent of a London 
paper. M. Pousette, a Swedish diplomat, was 
there, watching the soldiers looting shops. He 
talked with a German lieutenant. 

M. Pousette had a camera in his pocket. He 
asked the lieutenant if he could take a picture. 
The lieutenant, not knowing that M. Pousette had 
the camera, misunderstood the question, and, 
waving his hand toward a particularly fine man- 
sion, generously said: "Yes; go in that house. 
There are a number of good ones there.' ' 



HER FEET HER PASSPORT 

A Swedish actress narrates how she was taken 
for a German spy in Paris, and, not knowing how 
to proclaim her identity and being surrounded by 
a shouting mob, she felt quite alarmed. Suddenly 
a lucky idea occurred to her. 

She slightly raised her skirt, and, showing 
dainty little feet, exclaimed: "You look at this! 
Do you call these German?" 

She was saved and carried in triumph to her 
hotel. 

TEAWLERS WORTHY OF FLEET 

The sinking of the Wilson line steamship Rimo 
by a mine in the North Sea is described as fol- 
lows: 



WAR STORIES 89 

1 i It was extremely fortunate that the little fleet 
of four trawlers, homeward bound with their 
holds full of fish, chanced to be passing almost 
within hailing distance of the Runo at that mo- 
ment. The trawlers, regardless of the conse- 
quences to themselves, in view of the possibility 
that there were other mines in the neighborhood, 
pushed through the wreckage and picked up sail- 
ors and passengers who were clinging to timbers 
and rafts. These were persons who, in the first 
panic, had jumped overboard or had been blown 
into the sea. Others were gathered from the 
decks of the fast sinking ship. 

' ' The Runo, when she struck the mine, tilted at 
an angle which made it difficult to launch the life- 
boats. Only two were launched, survivors said, 
and these after reaching the water were both 
overturned by frightened passengers trying to 
get into them. 

1 'The Runo, after settling by the head, re- 
mained in that position for nearly two hours, her 
bulkheads holding her afloat until 6 o'clock when 
the bulkheads suddenly gave way, elevating her 
stern high in the air for a moment, after which 
she dipped quietly into the depths. 

"The work of the trawlers is declared by the 
Runo's crew to have been one of the finest epi- 
sodes of its kind in the history of the sea." 



"NOTHING SEEMS TO STOP THEM" 

A London Chronicle correspondent thus de- 
scribes the irresistible advance of the German 
troops : 



90 WAR STORIES 

"When I wrote my last despatch it seemed as 
inevitable as the rising of the next day's sun that 
the Germans should enter Paris on that very day. 

"They were fighting the British troops at Creil 
when I came to that town. Upon the following 
day they were holding the British in the forest of 
Compiegne. They have been as near to Paris as 
Senlis, almost within gunshot of the outer forts. 

' l ' Nothing seems to stop them, ' said many sol- 
diers with whom I spoke. 'We kill them and kill 
them, but they still come on. ' ' ' 

DIRGE A SIGNAL TO FIRE 

Cabling from Paris a correspondent says: 
"In the fighting at Dieure the Germans sig- 
naled for a masked battery to open fire on the 
French by having a military band play Chopin's 
'Funeral March.' " 

HUMAN SIEVE 

A correspondent in Ostend says that among 
the French wounded in recent fighting was a 
dragoon with six bullet and three bayonet wounds 
in the upper part of his body. He was expected 
to recover. 

"PARLEZ VOUS FRANC AIS" 

A London correspondent says: "A half-sheet 
typewritten French dictionary of the most nec- 
essary words is carried by all soldiers of the 
British expeditionary force." 



WAR STORIES 91 



KAISER STILL BRITISH ADMIRAL 

A London correspondent says : 

"According to the September Navy List just- 
issued the Kaiser is still an honorary admiral of 
the British fleet, so it would seem that his resig- 
nation has not yet reached Whitehall. ' ' 



LIGHT BRIGADE OUTDONE 

Private Whitaker of the Coldstream Guards, 
writing* to his fiancee, describes the fighting at 
Compiegne in the following words, cables a Lon- 
don correspondent : 

"You could not miss the Germans. Our bullets 
plowed into them, but still they came for us. 
I was well intrenched and my rifle got so hot I 
could hardly hold it. I was wondering if I should 
have enough cartridges, when a pal shouted, 'Up, 
Guards, and at 'em!' The next second he was 
rolled over with a nasty knock on the shoulder. 
He jumped up and roared, ' Let me get at 'em ! ' 

"They still came on and when we really did 
get the order to get at them we made no mis- 
takes. They cringed at the bayonet, but those on 
our left tried to get around us. 

"We yelled like demons, and after racing as 
hard as we could for quite 500 yards we cut up 
nearly every German who had not run away. 
Then we took up a new position. 

"Here our cover was not so good. At our left 
were the cavalry. The enemy's guns were blazing 
away and they got to us nicely, but not for long. 



92 WAR STOKIES 

You have read of the charge of the Light Brigade. 
It was nothing to our charge/ ' 



KAISER SEES BOMBARDMENT 

"A report from Basel confirms earlier state- 
ments that the Kaiser watched the Germans bom- 
barding Nancy," says a correspondent of the 
London Standard. "Attended at first by a small 
staff, he took up a position on a hill overlooking 
the town, just outside the range of the French 
artillery. 

"For several hours the Kaiser stood alone iu 
an isolated spot in the full glare of the sun, his 
eyes glued to a field glass through which he was 
following the operations of his army. Finally he 
walked back to a waiting automobile and was 
driven away unattended." 



TRAPS 28 GERMANS 

From Paris comes the story of the arrival of 
twenty-eight Prussian prisoners, the first to be 
seen in the French capital in the present war. It 
seems they had become separated from their regi- 
ment and lost their way. They asked a peasant 
near Meaux if the Germans had taken Paris and 
how to get there. The peasant replied that he 
thought Paris had fallen and would conduct them 
to the right road. When it was too late the 
Prussians found he was leading them into the 
British lines. 



f WAR STORIES 93 

) ESCAPED WITH A LAUGH 

Telegraphing from Sydney, N. S. W., the 
Reuter correspondent says: 

"An attempt was made at Nauru Island, a Ger- 
man possession in the Pacific just south of the 
equator and near the Gilbert Islands, to seize the 
British steamship Messina. A German magis- 
trate with a party in a small boat approached 
the Messina and demanded to go on board her. 

" 'By whose orders T the mate of the Messina 
asked. 

f* 'By orders of his Majesty, the Emperor of 
Germany/ the magistrate replied. 

"The mate laughed at the magistrate and or- 
dered full speed ahead, and the Messina sooa 
reached the open sea." 



"WEEL DONE, SANDY!" 

" A magnificent Gordon Highlander recently at- 
tracted attention at the Gare du Nord," tele- 
graphs a correspondent from Paris. "He was in 
fine humor, although he had been wounded in 
the side in the fighting on the Marne. He had a 
sword in his hand which, he explained, he had cap- 
tured from a Uhlan directly after the German had 
struck him with it, and he had shot his assailant 
dead. 

"Some women of the French Red Cross on 
their way to the front caught sight of the Scots- 
man and hurried up to see if he was badly hurt- 
An animated conversation followed. The High- 



94 WAR STORIES 

lander, anxious to express his gratitude to the 
French Florence Nightingales, hesitated a mo- 
ment; then he kissed all of them on the cheeks. 
The crowd cheered delightedly and the nurses 
were not in the least abashed." 

LIFEBOATS A MINE TRAP 

A London correspondent telegraphs the follow- 
ing incident: 

" The master of the Grimsby steam trawler 
Agatha reports that while fishing in the North 
Sea he sighted a ship's boat afloat, and supposing 
that some disaster had occurred went toward it, 
put out a boat and found the derelict to be a life- 
boat supplied with sails, mast and oars. The 
Agatha tried to tow the prize home, but imme- 
diately an explosion occurred, luckily too far dis- 
tant to harm the trawler. 

"A careful examination revealed that a mine 
had been attached to the lifeboat by ropes and 
wires in such a manner as to explode and blow 
up any ship which steamed alongside the lifeboat 
to pick it up. ' ' 

SHOOT POISONOUS GASES 

" There is much talk here," says a Malta cor- 
respondent, u of a new German siege gun which 
kills as much by poisonous gases liberated from 
the shell as by the solid contents. The gun has a 
relatively small bore and is easily mounted on 
wheels. 

"The shell is loaded at the mouth of the gun, 



WAR STORIES 95 

but a metallic shaft, making a piece with the 
shell, is rammed tightly into the gun. Shell and 
shaft are shot together.' ' 

CHILDREN WANTED TO FIGHT 

A Bourges correspondent says: " Among the 
spectators acclaiming the French artillery pass- 
ing through here were four lads, the eldest about 
13. Several marches later the boys were found 
in a circle of the troops partaking of the mess. 

4 'They swore to follow until they came in con- 
tact with the enemy and to lay down their lives 
for their country. A collection was immediately 
raised among the soldiers. The boys were ter- 
ribly depressed at being compelled to return home 
afoot, charged with vagabondage under the mili- 
tary law. The magistrate, with tears in his eyes, 
acquitted them. ' ' 

"PRISONERS NOT WANTED" 

Telegraphing from Rotterdam a correspondent 
of the New York Sun says : 

"An American who arrived here from Berlin 
said to me: 

" 'As the Berliners have been treated to a long, 
unbroken series of bulletins announcing German 
victories and have an invincible belief in the irre- 
sistibility of the German army, I asked why there 
were so few English prisoners. 

if 'The reply was : "We are not troubling our- 
selves to take many. The hatred of our men for 
the British is uncontrollable." This was accom- 



96 WAR STORIES 

panied by a gesture which indicated that the 
wounded fare badly.' " 



4,000 AUSTRIANS FAST IN BOG 

A Petrograd correspondent telegraphs the fol- 
lowing: "An engagement at Krinitz, between 
Lublin and Kholm, where the Austrians lost about 
6,000 prisoners and several guns, was decided by 
a bayonet charge. The Austrians got entangled 
in a bog, from which, after their surrender, they 
had to be extricated with the assistance of 
ropes. ' ' 

FRENCH CAVALRY'S FEAT 

Quoting from a letter received from a French 
officer a Bordeaux correspondent tells how a 
French cavalry division held in check two German 
corps for twenty- four hours : 

"When the Germans were advancing from the 
north we were ordered to hold a certain village 
at all costs with a few quick-firing guns and cav- 
alry. It was a heroic enterprise, but we suc- 
ceeded. 

"The German attack began in the morning. A 
terrific bombardment was maintained all day; 
shells destroyed every building and the noise was 
infernal. We had to scream and shout all orders. 
The church tower was struck by a shell at the 
stroke of midnight and collapsed. 

"Early in the morning we retreated under a 
hail of shells, after mowing down masses of Ger- 
man infantry. We gave our army in the rear a 



WAR STORIES 97 

whole day's rest and our exploit is -mentioned 
in many orders as a historic rearguard defensive 
action." 



KILLED AS HIS MEN FLED 

A young reserve officer who has returned to 
Paris, relating how he captured the sword of a 
Bavarian colonel, said: 

"When charging the Bavarians I noticed that 
their colonel was striking his own men with his 
sword to prevent them from running away. He 
was so occupied in this that he forgot the ap- 
proach of the French and was shot dead. * ' 



THINK OF KAISER AND GOD 

A Rouen correspondent has obtained possession 
of the diary of a German officer, who surrendered 
to a party of stragglers, and quotes the following 
from it: 

"Aug. 5. — Our losses to-day before Liege have 
been frightful. Never mind ; it is all allowed for. 
Besides the fallen are only Polish beginners, the 
spilling of whose blood will spread the war lust 
at home — a necessary factor. Wait till we put 
our experts on these deluded people. 

"Aug. 11. — And now for the English, who are 
used to fighting farmers. Vorwdrts, immer vor- 
wiirts. To-night William the Greater has given 
us beautiful advice : i You think each day of your 
Emperor; do not forget God.' His Majesty 
should remember that thinking of him we think of 



98 WAR STORIES 

God, for is he not the Almighty's representative 
in this glorious fight for the right? 

"Aug. 12. — This is clearly to be an artillery 
war. As we foresaw, the infantry counts for 
nothing. 

"Aug. 15. — We are on the frontier; why do we 
wait? Has Russia really dared to invade us? 
Two hussars were shot to-day for killing a child. 
This may be war, but it is the imperial wish that 
we carry it on in a manner befitting the most 
highly cultivated people. 

"Aug. 14. — Every night now a chapter of the 
war of 1870 is read to us. What a great notion ! 
But is it necessary?" 



PENANCE, NOT TENNIS 

The Daily Chronicle's correspondent at Am- 
sterdam telegraphs as follows: 

"The Cologne Gazette says: 'A thousand 
English soldiers are now prisoners of war at the 
Doberitz military exercise ground near Berlin. 

" 'It is proposed to give English officers facil- 
ities for tennis and golf, but this plan is opposed 
by the Gazette, which says that men of the nation 
which plunged Germany into the war will be bet- 
ter occupied sitting down thinking of their coun- 
try's sins.' " 



CROSS ON PRIEST AS TARGET 

"Official couriers arriving here from the 
American Legation at Brussels witnessed a fresh 



WAR STORIES 99 

sample of German atrocity toward the conquered 
Belgians," says a correspondent in Antwerp. 
"Passing slowly through Louvain in an automo- 
bile, they saw sitting outside a partly burned 
house a boy 8 years old whose hands and feet 
had been cut off at the wrists and ankles. The 
Americans stopped and asked the child's mother 
what had happened. 

f \ 1 The Germans did it, ' she said with spiritless 
apathy. 

' ' Evidently in terror lest she had said too much, 
she refused to answer further questions. The 
child's wrists and ankles were bandaged as if the 
frightful injuries were inflicted recently. Details 
of the shooting down of one Jesuit priest of Lou- 
vain were told to the American couriers by an- 
other priest who witnessed the affair. 

"It appears that the Jesuit kept a diary in 
which he had written the following commentary 
on the sacking of the Louvain library: * Van- 
dalism worthy of Attila himself. ' 

"German officers forced him to read the words 
aloud, then marked a cross in chalk on the back 
of his cassock as a target and sent a dozen bullets 
into his back in the presence of twenty other 
Louvain priests." 



KAISER'S HEAD SAVED HIM 

A wounded sergeant brought from the front 
told a Paris correspondent that he owes his life 
to a bust of the Kaiser. The sergeant took it 



100 WAR STORIES 

from a village school and stuck it in his haver- 
sack. Soon afterward a German bullet struck 
him, knocking him down. He found the bullet 
had glanced off the head of the bust, chipping off 
one of the ends of the Kaiser's mustache. 



WHITLOCK SAVES TEN SCHOLARS 
FROM DEATH 

A Jesuit priest who escaped from Louvain be- 
fore the destruction of that city has written to 
his father, Philip Cooley, as follows: 

"All our people escaped except eleven scholas- 
tics. One of these was shot at once, as he had a 
war diary on his person. The others were taken 
{o Brussels where they were to have been shot, 
but the American Minister stepped in and 
stopped it. 

"He told the Germans that his Government 
would declare war if any of those persons were 
shot." 



SHOULD SHE HAVE LIED? 

In one little town near Clearmont we came in 
for a strange echo of war. A woman in a high 
cart drove past quickly. I was talking with a 
woman of the inn. 

There was silence, then an outburst from the 
handsome Sibyl-faced hostess who had two sons 
at war. "Think of it," she said; "three of our 
soldiers were chased from the fight at Creil. They 



WAR STORIES 101 

took refuge with her. She is rich and has a gar- 
den. She hid them in a hayloft and threw their 
uniforms in the garden. The Germans came. 
They slept in her house. 

"They said: 'We are forced to fight; it is 
not of our seeking. The French attacked us.' 

"They found the uniforms. They put a pistol 
to her breast. 

'! 'We will shoot you if you do not say where 
these soldiers are.' 

"She cried: < In the loft.' 

"They shot them all — three traitors — and it 
would have been so easy to lie." 



GERMAN CAVALRY AFOOT 

The London Daily Express's Paris correspond- 
ent says that the British captured seventeen 
howitzers and a number of smaller guns. The 
German cavalry losses were appalling. A cap- 
tured German cavalry officer estimates the wast- 
age of horses, especially in the Belgian campaign, 
at about two-thirds of the total allotted to the 
army operating in the direction of Paris. 

The army was hampered by a shortage of cav- 
alry scouts, and since it entered France many bat- 
tery horses have been transferred to the cavalry. 
As a result guns have been abandoned and have 
fallen into the hands of the British in large num- 
bers. The horseless cavalrymen are now march- 
ing with the infantry. 



102 WAR STORIES 

The officer is despondent over the future, but 
thinks that the German right intends to stand in 
the positions prepared during the advance and 
await reinforcements. 



AIRMEN DODGE BULLETS 

The London Daily Mail's Petrograd corre- 
spondent sends a description of M. Poiret, a 
French aviator who is serving with the Russian 
army, of a flight over the German position, accom- 
panied by a staff captain : 

"I rose to a height of 5,000 feet," said Poiret. 
"Fighting was in full swing. The Captain with 
me already had made some valuable observations 
when the Germans, noticing my French machine, 
opened fire on it. 

"A number of their bullets pierced the wings 
of the aeroplane and others struck the stays. 
We still flew on, however, as it was necessary to 
obtain the exact position of the enemy. Then 
the German artillery began. Their shells burst 
near the aeroplane and each explosion caused it 
to rock. It was difficult to retain control as 
pieces of shells had seriously damaged two of the 
stays. The fantastic dance in the air lasted 
twenty minutes. 

"The Captain was wounded in the heel but con- 
tinued to make observations. Finally I turned 
the machine and landed home safely. I found ten 
bullet marks and two fragments of shells in the 
machine. " 



WAR STORIES 103 



GERMAN SPIES RECKLESS 

"The German attempts at spying are amaz- 
ingly daring near Toulon. Attempt follows at- 
tempt with an incredible indifference to the sud- 
den death which follows capture," writes a cor- 
respondent. 

1 ' One of the patrol thought he saw a movement 
down among the vines on the side of a deserted 
road and knew that something was wrong. He 
immediately gave a hail. As there was no reply 
he fired two shots among the vines. Some one 
gave a scream, and the soldier ran up with his 
bayonet at the ready. 

i t Three men jumped out from among the vines 
and one of them fired twice at him with a revolver 
or automatic pistol. He was not hit and went 
right at them with his bayonet, firing again as 
he ran. He killed one man. More soldiers ran 
up and they chased the two men that were left 
down the deserted road to the little bay. There 
was a small petrol launch lying close in shore. 
Immediately afterward the launch put her bow 
around and went out to sea. 

"But that's not the most dramatic part of this 
evening's business. It was suspected that more 
men had come ashore from the launch. A gen- 
eral alarm was sent out immediately. This pre- 
caution was well justified, for two men were 
caught trying to blow up one of the railway 
bridges. 

* ' These two men were given exactly one minute 
to prepare themselves. They were shoved against 
the pier of the bridge and the firing party shot 



104 WAR STORIES 

them from so close a distance that one man's 
clothes caught fire. He didn't seem to know 
that he was hit at first, for he started trying to 
put out the places where his coat and vest were 
burning. Then he went down plump on the 
ground. The other man died instantly. 

' ' When the German was trying to put out his 
burning clothes just before he slipped down he 
kept saying in broken English (not German, mind 
you) , ' I vill burn ! I vill burn ! ' He seemed quite 
unable to realize he was shot. ' ' 



LIKE A MELODRAMA 

"The French bluejacket is a fine fellow but 
in every way presents a big contrast alongside his 
present war mates of the British navy," says a 
correspondent. 

"To begin with, he must dramatize all his emo- 
tions. I saw a ship from foreign parts coming 
to Boulogne. One man, evidently expected, for 
there was a large crowd, stepped ashore. There 
was tremendous earnestness in his face. Cour- 
age, patriotism, duty — all these shone out, trans- 
figuring a somewhat slovenly figure. Several 
women embraced him as he stepped ashore. This 
he accepted as a tribute due to him. When he 
had taken enough he waved the rest aside and 
pointed in the direction of the Marine Depart- 
ment Office. 

" I go ! ' ' he called out. He made a brief speech, 



WAR STOEIES 105 

fiery, religious, earnest. Then he kissed his 
mother, said good-by to everyone, and crossed the 
quay to the Marine Department of War. His 
shipmates looked on admiringly. The customs 
authorities did not search him for contraband. 
He was the brave patriot going to serve his coun- 
try afloat. ' ' 



ALL FOLLOWED THE BOTTLE 

Here is a delightful story from a correspondent 
in France: 

. "A party of British bluejackets were being en- 
tertained by their future allies ashore. A middy 
came off with the leave boat at 10 o'clock. He 
noticed some of the men were half seas over and 
all were jolly. 

"One of the bluejackets he saw had a bottle 
concealed beneath his jumper. He directed a 
petty officer to take it from him and throw it over- 
board. This was done — and the owner of it 
promptly jumped in after it. The next moment 
half the boat's company had dived overboard; 
the other half were restrained by the officers. 
Fortunately every man was saved. Next morning 
there was a parade on the quarter deck. The 
captain complimented the men on their exploit of 
the night before, thanked God they were safe and 
expressed pleasure that he had such a body of 
men under him. The men received his praise 
stolidly. Then one spoke out: 

u ' Sorry we were unsuccessful, sir,' he said, 
saluting. 



106 WAR STORIES 

" 'But — but!' said the captain, 'I understood 
Seaman Robert Hodge was saved.' 

" * Yes, sir, but we dived after the whiskey, sir. 
We knew Bob could look after himself. ' " 



" JACQUES DID HIS DUTY!" 

Details of hov/ his son was wounded have just 
reached the French Foreign Minister, Delcasse. 

Lieutenant Jacques Delcasse, his sword in one 
hand and a revolver in the other, was charging 
at the head of his company when a German bullet 
struck him down. Gallantly struggling to his feet, 
Dalcasse again dashed at the enemy, but a second 
ball placed him out of action. 

To his wife, who arrived at Bordeaux to-day, 
the Foreign Minister said: "I'm proud of 
Jacques ; he did his duty. ' ' 

"THE SCOUNDRELS!" 

In the hospital at Bordeaux a soldier of the Sec- 
ond French Colonial Regiment was operated upon 
for a horrible wound in the thigh, caused by an 
explosive bullet. The orifice made by the bullet 
on entry was clean and narrow, whereas at the 
exit it was several centimeters wide, while the 
intermediate flash was a mass of bruised and torn 
tissues, which were entirely destroyed. As the 
surgeon cut away the flesh the wounded man re- 
marked : 

"The blackguards ! To think that I served two 
years in Morocco without a scratch, and now these 
German scoundrels have served me like this. ' ' 



WAR STORIES 107 



MOVIE THRILLER OUTDONE 

Here are two instances of individual French 
heroism : 

' 1 In a village on the point of occupation by Ger- 
man cavalry, a French soldier, the last of his regi- 
ment there, heard a woman's cries. He turned 
back. At that moment a Uhlan patrol entered the 
village. The soldier hid behind a door and then 
shot down the first officer and then one of the 
soldiers. 

" While the rest of the patrol hesitated, the 
soldier rushed out, seized the officer's riderless 
horse, swung himself into the saddle and, hoisting 
the woman behind him, rode off amid a hail of 
bullets. Both reached the French lines un- 
scathed. 

"The second act of bravery cost the hero his 
life. On the banks of the Oise a captain of engi- 
neers had been ordered to blow up a bridge in 
order to cover the French retreat. 

"When a detachment of the enemy appeared 
on the other side of the bridge the officer ordered 
his men back and then himself running forward 
fired the mine with his own hand, meeting a death 
which he must have known to be certain." 



DUG WAY TO SAFETY 

A remarkable story of a soldier caught in a 
trap amid a rain of bullets, who dug his way to 
safety with his bayonet, was told in a hospital at 
Petrograd. 



108 WAR STORIES 

"A body of Russian troops was lured into the 
open through the flying of a white flag, ' ' the sol- 
dier said, "when the bullets began to rain upon 
us. There was no cover in sight and I began to 
dig a hole with my bayonet. Either it would be 
my grave or my protection from the rifle fire. 

"One bullet hit me, but I continued to dig. A 
second bullet hit me and this went clear through 
my lungs. 

* ' The hole was half finished when a third bullet 
struck me in the leg. Finally I finished the hole 
and tumbled into it just as a fourth shot hit my 
other leg. I became unconscious and remembered 
nothing more until I woke up here." 



BRITISH DRAGOON'S EXPLOIT 

A Reuter despatch from Paris says that a 
British soldier of the 6th Dragoons, suffering 
from bullet wounds in the hip, told of a grim 
incident at Compiegne. 

The night before the battle the dragoon's 
squadron was - on outpost duty. Some firing had 
been heard, and he rode ahead of his squadron to 
find out what was happening, in the belief that 
French cavalry were engaged with the Germans 
close at hand. 

The dragoon cantered along the moonlit road, 
until suddenly, in the shadow of the trees, he found 
himself in the midst of a group of horsemen — 
Germans. He had a carbine across the neck of 
his horse and fired point blank into the breast 
of a German trooper, with whose horse his own 



WAR STORIES 109 

collided. The German was as quick with his 
weapon and both men fell to the ground, the Ger- 
man dead, the British soldier with a bullet 
through his hip. 

An instant later the British squadron came 
clattering up and cut the German detachment- - 
about thirty strong — to pieces. 

SAVED HIS COMMANDER 

In the orders of the day made public at Bor- 
deaux numerous cases of bravery are cited. Two 
of them follow : 

" Private Phillips of the Second Battalion of 
riflemen, during the battle ran out under fire to 
his captain, who was mortally wounded, and 
brought him in. Private Phillips went eight times 
to the firing line under violent shelling to give 
water to the wounded and he also assisted his 
commandant to rally riflemen dispersed by the 
enemy's fire. 

"Bugler Martin of the 14th Hussars, a member 
of a patrol commanded by Lieutenant de Cham- 
pigny, in a fierce skirmish with a German patr©l r 
seeing his commander wounded and captured, 
charged the German officer who had made a pris- 
oner of De Champigny, killed him with his own 
hand and rescued De Champigny.' ' 

GETTING REAL CRUSTY 

"Vienna Bakeries " all over Prance have now 
changed their title to "Parisian Bakeries," says 
a Paris correspondent. 



110 WAR STORIES 



BATTLES QUITE THE THING 

When, fighting was general about Brussels 
smart women of the Belgian capital motored out 
to watch battles in the cool" of the afternoon as 
gaily as though going to the races, says an Ostend 
correspondent. 



CHILD PLAYED AMID DEAD 



Here is part of the description of scenes on the 
battlefields on the banks of the Marne as told to 
a Paris correspondent by an eyewitness: 

"The greatest optimism reigns. I saw the re- 
mains of blown-up bridges and hundreds of life- 
less horses and mules in the deserted trenches. 
Dead soldiers had been buried and the wounded 
cared for, and some priests were throwing burn- 
ing brushwood on carcasses. 

"In the blazing sunshine not far away I saw a 
little boy, son of a Turco — for the Turcos often 
bring their wives and children on or near the 
battlefield. 

"He had a rifle of some wounded soldier which 
he was hugging in his little arms as if it were a 
toy. He was perfectly happy surrounded by evi- 
dences of death, destruction, suffering and blood. 
His father was lying wounded in a village close 
by. The child had strayed away." 



WAR STORIES 111 



POISONING WATER 

A Petrograd correspondent says: 

"Wounded officers who have returned from 
East Prussia charge that the Germans are 
poisoning the water. A woman brought water to 
soldiers and they immediately became ill. Their 
officer tendered the water to a German, who re- 
fused to drink it, and when analyzed it was found 
to have contained arsenic." 



TRIED TO ROW TO WAR 

Four gunners of the Royal Field Artillery at 
Folkestone had an experience which has set all 
the Channel town to laughing, says a London 
correspondent. The gunners recently hired a 
small boat and rowed out into the Channel. 

The following morning a boat from Calais, the 
French city just across the Channel, swung the 
missing rowboat down to the dock at Folkestone 
and the four gunners sheepishly followed. 

Nervous because of the delay in getting to the 
scene of war, the four men had decided they would 
row to Calais. They had failed to provide food 
and water and found the thirty-mile pull under a 
hot sun a task they had not expected. Finally 
they hailed a French fishing vessel. 

DECORATED ON BATTLEFIELD 

A correspondent in Limoges cables : 

' ' On a train loaded with wounded which passed 



112 WAR STORIES 

through here was a young French officer, Albert 
Palaphy, whose unusual bravery on the field of 
battle won for him the Legion of Honor. 

"As a corporal of the 10th Dragoons at the 
beginning of the war Palaphy took part in the 
recent violent combat with the Germans. In the 
thick of the battle the brigadier, finding his 
colonel wounded and helpless, rushed to his aid. 
Palaphy hoisted the injured man upon his shoul- 
ders, and under a rain of machine gun bullets 
carried the colonel safely to the French lines. 
That same day Palaphy was promoted to be a 
sergeant. 

' i Shortly afterward, although wounded, he dis- 
tinguished himself in another affair, leading a 
charge of his squad against the Baden Guard, 
whose standard he himself captured. Wounded 
by a bullet which had plowed through the lower 
part of his stomach and covered with lance 
thrusts, he was removed from the battlefield in 
the night. Then he learned that he had been pro- 
moted to be a sub-lieutenant and nominated 
chevalier in the Legion of Honor. 

"This incident of decorating a soldier on the 
battlefield recalls Napoleonic times." 



HUSSAR LED 300 CAPTIVE 

The following incident is told by a Paris cor- 
respondent : 

i l Near a little village in Lorraine a German « 
lieutenant was effectively using his artillery on 
the French. A Hussar had been taken a prisoner 
to the village, which was defended by 300 Ger- 



WAR STORIES 113 

mans. Under cover of their own artillery fire the 
French infantry advanced irresistibly. 

' ' The German officer, who saw that "he could not 
hold out, asked the Hussar's advice. Of course 
the French soldier answered, 'If you resist you're 
all dead.' 'Yes,' says the German, 'but if we 
surrender, still we will all be shot.' The Hussar^ 
assured him that France respects the laws of 
war, that prisoners are well treated and every 
one of them would be safe. The German officer 
quickly resolved to stop his resistance. 

"Then the brave little French Hussar, with the 
German officer beside him and followed by 300 
pointed helmets, marched to the first French of- 
ficer and handed over his prisoners." 



WHAT'S WAR TO DICTIONARY? 

A Paris correspondent cables : ' ' Ten members 
attended the French Academy's regular meeting 
this week and discussed the word 'exode' for the 
dictionary. l Exode' means exodus. 

' ' Marcel Prevost, the writer, who is an artillery 
captain, gave his confreres a description of the 
Paris defenses." 



HAYFORK PART OF DINNER SET 

"The scene is a village on the outskirts of 
Muelhausen," says a correspondent in Bordeaux. 
"A lieutenant of German scouts dashes up to the 
door of the only inn in the village, posts men at 



114 WAE STORIES 

the doorway and entering, seats himself at a deal 
table. 

"He draws his saber and places it on the table 
at his side and orders food in menacing tones. 

"The village waiter is equal to the occasion. 
He goes to an outhouse and fetches a hayfork 
and places it at the other side of the visitor. 

" 'Stop, what does this mean?' roars the lieu- 
tenant furiously. 

' ' * Why, ' says the waiter innocently, pointing to 
the saber, 'I thought that was your knife, so I 
brought you a fork to match. ' ' ' 



LAST DRINK KILLS HIM 

Says a Paris correspondent : 

"One Parisian, seeing his supply of absinthe 
was reduced, with no chance for obtaining more, 
drank his last bottle almost at one drink and 
died." 



SONS IN EACH ARMY 

The plight of a Swiss woman is told by a Bor- 
deaux correspondent : 

Living at Basel she married a German. Two 
sons were born to them. Afterward she married 
a Frenchman and had two more sons. All four of 
her sons were called to arms, two on each side. 

The mother has just received news that all four 
have fallen in battle. 



WAR STORIES 115 

KAISER IN TEARS AS HE SIGNED WAR 
ORDER 

Kaiser Wilhelm wept when he signed Ger- 
many's declaration of war against Russia, accord- 
ing to Liston Lewis, a lawyer of New York. Mr. 
Lewis said his information came from one of the 
highest officials in Germany. 

"We reached Berlin on July 29," he said. 
' ' There were stirring scenes there then. The en- 
thusiasm of the people was deep. They were 
firm in the conviction that England, France and 
Russia were determined to make an aggressive 
war on Germany. 

' ' An intimate friend of the Kaiser told me that 
Wilhelm did not believe such a thing as a gen- 
eral European war possible. He had been told by 
the German Ambassador in Petrograd that the 
Russian army was not mobilizing in the West, and 
had no intention of mobilizing. 

"Not until the members of the General Staff 
put proof of the aggressive movements of the 
Russian army before him and insisted that he 
would be responsible for what might follow unless 
he declared war would the Kaiser believe Rus- 
sia's perfidy. Then he asked to be left alone for 
an hour. 

"At the expiration of that time he was found 
in tears. 'I can't do otherwise/ he remarked as 
he signed the declaration of war." 

KAISER'S OWN MOVIES 

Representatives of the German Government 
have arrived in Copenhagen with a series of film 



116 WAR STORIES ■ 

war pictures taken under the Kaiser's immediate 
and personal supervision. These pictures, which 
already have been exhibited to a private gather- 
ing of press representatives, show the bright side 
of the German army, its appearance when march- 
ing and the magnificence of its equipment and 
organization. 

The heroism of the Kaiser himself is shown in 
a number of heroic attitudes. One picture is 
headed, "The Kaiser Under Fire," but it shows 
his Imperial Majesty as merely looking through 
field glasses and gives no indication of danger 
to him. Another shows the Kaiser's luxurious 
headquarters, erected at a safe distance behind 
the firing line, consisting of a number of magnifi- 
cently furnished asbestos huts, in which his Maj- 
esty can live as comfortably and luxuriously as in 
his. palace at Potsdam. 



ONE FRENCHMAN DRIVES OFF FIFTEEN 

A French private soldier of the name of Baba 
Couli-Baly of the 45th Infantry has been men- 
tioned for his coolness and accurate rifle fire. 
While guarding a train of automobiles he put fif- 
teen German cavalrymen to flight. 

Second Lieutenant Boquet and Sergeant Major 
Mercoer of the same regiment have been men- 
tioned in orders for their daring in effecting the 
capture of a German officer attached to the Gen- 
eral Staff who was found making a reconnois- 
sance in an automobile. 



WAR STORIES 117 



SANG FOR THEIR DINNER 

Two Americans arrived at Ostend yestei 
"battered and haggard, but wherever they met Ger- 
mans, the waving of the big American passport 
secured them politeness. 

At Sottegehem they came upon some German 
officers in a wayside tavern. A lieutenant called 
for a song in English. One of the Americans 
obliged with "You Made Me Love You, I 'Didn't 
Want to Do It.' ' 

The lieutenant then said : "If you come from 
Brussels you must be hungry. " 

The officer disappeared and returned with arms 
laden with ten pounds of butter and a hundred 
eggs. He then kindly offered to steal two bicy- 
cles to relieve them from walking. 



GERMAN AIRMEN'S DARING 

Two German aviation officers had to land near 
a Belgian village and were attacked by the local 
residents, who armed themselves with shotguns. 
One of the Germans succeeded in seizing the vil- 
lage magistrate as a hostage, and while he kept 
his pistol at that official's head his companion 
repaired the motor. They then made the magis- 
trate mount the aeroplane, which luckily was able 
to ascend with three passengers, and sped away. 

Two other German airmen whose aeroplane 
was wrecked when it came down were dazed and 
stunned from their fall. Immediately they were 



118 WAR STORIES 

attacked by a group of French peasants armed 
with pitchforks and scythes. The Germans held 
these men at bay with their revolvers until they 
reached the dense woods, in which they hid. 

Peasants and soldiers hunted them systematic- 
ally for days. They spent anxious hours crouch- 
ing in holes like rabbits, while their pursuers fired 
shotguns and rifles into every suspicious thicket. 
They lived on beets and the only water they had. 
was dew, which they sucked from leaves. Their 
minds almost gave way under the strain and they 
were burning with fever when a German patrol 
found them. 



PRINCE JOACHIM'S BRAVERY 

From an officer who was with Prince Joachim 
when he was wounded the following description 
of the incident has been obtained: 

"It was during the hottest part of the battle, 
just before the Russian resistance was broken, 
that the Prince, who was with the staff as in- 
formation officer, was despatched to the firing- 
line to learn how the situation stood. He rode 
off with Adjutant-Captain von Tahlzahn and had 
to traverse the distance, almost a mile, under a 
heavy hail of shell and occasional volleys. 

"As the Russian artillery was well served and 
knew all the ranges from previous measurements, 
the ride was not a particularly pleasant one, but 
he came through safely and stood talking with 
the officers when a shrapnel burst in their vicinity. 



WAR STORIES 119 

The Prince and the Adjutant were both hit, the 
latter receiving contusions on the leg, but the 
shot not penetrating. 

1 ' To stop and whip out an emergency bandage, 
which the Prince, like every officer and private, 
carries sewed inside the blouse, and bind it 
around the thigh to cheek the bleeding was the 
work of only a moment. It was a long and dan- 
gerous task, however, to get him back to the first 
bandaging station, about a mile to the rear, under 
fire, and from there he was transported to the 
advanced hospital at Allenstein, where he re- 
mained until he was able to travel." 



CAUSE OF AERSCHOT TRAGEDY 

Under date of Antwerp, Sunday, September 
20, 1914, the London Standard published the fol- 
lowing story from a correspondent : 

"When the German troops under General von 
Boehn entered Aerschot the burgomaster awaited 
the Germans at the entrance to the town, and to 
General von Boehn made offers of hospitality.^ 

"The General was gracious enough, and said 
that so long as everybody in the place showed the 
quietest demeanor the town and the lives of those 
in it were safe ; if not, the reprisals would be piti- 
less. The burgomaster offered the hospitality of 
his own house to the General and his officers, and 
this was also accepted. 

1 ' General von Boehn, with his chief of staff and 



120 WAR STORIES 

another officer, took up their quarters under the 
roof of the mayor. At night the General and 
his officers dined with the family, consisting of the 
burgomaster and his wife and their son and 
daughter. 

' 'The meal progressed with every sign of 
geniality, and the conduct of the officers was 
perfectly respectful and normal, but toward 
the end of the dinner they drank very freely. 
By the time everybody had retired the three 
Germans were all very much the worse for 
drink. 

"In the early hours of the morning the mem- 
bers of the household were roused by a shriek 
from the room occupied by the daughter. The 
son rushed in and found his sister struggling in 
the arms of the chief of staff. 

"The young man, aroused to a frenzy, at- 
tacked the scoundrel. There was a fierce strug- 
gle, which ended in the son shooting the chief 
of staff. 

"The tragedy was witnessed by most of the 
household, but the shot did not arouse the Gen- 
eral and the other officer, drunkenly asleep in 
their beds. The terrified household had to wait 
until morniiig for the denouement of the 
tragedy. 

"The next morning the body of the chief of 
staff was discovered by the officer. The General 
was terribly cold in his wrath. 

" 'The price must be paid/ he said. 

"The burgomaster, his son and two men-serv- 
ants were put against the wall and shot. 

"The carnage in the streets, with burning, 
hacking and stabbing, followed." 




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BANG ! ! ! 




TORPEDOED 

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! 

Adrift in the Submarine Infested Waters 
of the War Zone ! 



By E. H. JOHNSON 

A Victim of German Frlghtfuloess 



Unequalled and Unsurpassed 

The War's Best and Most Hair Raising- 
Narrative 



BATTLING WITH THE GERMAN U BOATS 
A Book That Will Stir Your Yankee Doodle Blood to Fever Heat 

Read how the author witnessed the sinking of com- 
rade ships; watch his vessel trailed by hostile raiders; 
hear the roar of the deadly Hun torpedo; view his good 
ship as it sinks beneath him and his struggles for life, 
and see him at sea a castaway on the northern coast of 
distant Africa. 

Truth That MaKes Fiction Tame and Tedious.; 
The U Boats Are BlocKing Our Coasts. 

Read this astounding story of the pirates of the under - 
seas, a story of three continents ablaze with the horrors 
of the world's greatest war. Go over the top of the 
ocean's trenches with the hero author and buy 

TORPEDOED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! NOW 

Instructive ! Educational ! Thrilling ! 

The book is printed from new, large type on good 
paper, bound in paper cover with attractive design in 
colors. For sale by newsdealers everywhere, or sent by 
mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price, 30 cents. 



J. S. OGILVIE 
P.O.Box 767 



PUBLISHING COMPANY 

57 Rose Street, New York 



WELL! WELL!! WELL!!! 




Talk about your mysteiy and 
detective stories— 

THE MYSTERY 

OF THE 

RAVENSPURS 

By FRED. M. WHITE, 

is certainly a hummer. 

Mr. White stands in the forefront of the mystery and de- 
tective story writers of the English speaking world to-day, and 
this is one of his best and latest books. 

Do you like surprises that make your eyes open wide ? Sus- 
tained excitement and strange scenes that compel you to read 
on page after page with unflagging interest? Something that 
lifts you out of your world of care and business, and transports 
you to another land, clime, and scenes? Then don't fail to read 

=: The flystery of the Ravenspurs. =^r 

It is a romantic tale of adventure, mystery and amu c u/ 
detective work, with scenes laid in England, India, and the dis- 
tant and comparatively unknown Thibet. A band of mystics 
from the latter country are the prime movers in the various 
conspiracies, and their new, unique, weird, strange methods 
form one of the features of the story. 

Read of the clever detective work by blind Ralph, which 
borders upon the supernatural ; of walking the black Valley of , 
Death in Thibet, with its attendant horrors ; of the Princess 
Zara, and her power, intrigue and treachery laid bare ; of the ! 
poisonous bees and the deadly perfume flowers. Unflagging 1 
interest holds your spell-bound attention from cover to cover. 

NEW! UP-TO-DATE! ENTERTAINING l| 

The book contains 320 pages, bound in paper cover, witb* 
handsome illustration in colors. Formerly published in cloth at 
$1.25, now issued in paper covers at 30 C3ENTS. 

For sale by booksellers everywhei?e, or sent by mail, wost* 
paid, upon receipt of price. Address 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
f. 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YOBX. 



The Confessions 
a Princess 




A book of this sort would necessarily 
be anonymous, and the name *f the authot 
is not essential as indicative of literary 
ability, the strength of the story depends 
ing upon its action as revealed through 
the laying bare of the innermost secrets e£ 
a * * Princess of the Realm " whose dis- 
position and character were such as to 
compel her to find elsewhere than in her 
own home the love, tenderness, admira- 
tion, and society which was lacking there, 
and which her being craved. Position, money and power, 
seem to those who do not possess them, to bring happiness. 
Such is not the case, however, where stability of character is 
lacking and where one depends upon the pleasures of sense 
for the enjoyment of life rather than on the accomplishment ol 
things worth while, based on high ideals. 

The writer has taken a page from her life and has given it 
to the world. She has laid bare the soul of a woman, that 
some other woman (or seme man) might profit thereby. The 
names have been changed, and such events omitted as might 
lead too readily to the discovery of their identity. Each the 
victim of circumstance, yet the price is demanded of the one 
who fell the victim of environment. 

I7ie Confessions of a Princess is the story of a woman 
who saw, conquered and fell. 

The book contains 270 pages, printed from new, 
large type on good paper, bound in paper cover with 
attractive design in colors. For sale by newsdealers 
everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt oi 
30 cents. Bound in cloth, price, 75 cents. 

J. S. OCrHiVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
f . 0. Box 7G7. 57 BOSE STEEET, NEW Y0K& 




«C%e Story with the "Punch! 
*Che %eal Goods!! 
Vhe Hot Stuff!!! 
All Pep from the Word QoU! 

CATTLE RUSTLERS 
Of WYOMING 

By FORD DOUGLAS. 
The Talk of the Town ! The Sensation of the Hour ! 
The Forty-Two Centimetre Gun of Fiction ! ! ! 

Here is the west as you have dreamed of it, with its sage brush 
plains, sighing pines, bellowing steers, rolling foothills, mystic 
canyons, snow capped mountains, dare devil cow-punchers, ^tin 
horn gamblers, painted red skins, lawless cattle rustlers, murd- 
erous bad men, fascinating fairies of the frontier saloons, suscep- 
tible tenderfoot. 

THEY ARE ALL HERE 

Swept by the authors magic pen into the mazes of a soul stirring 
red blooded, hair raising romance, which deals with the loves, 
hates and primitive passions of a wild, fearless, fast living, hard 
dying race. 

A Frontier Classic ! The Real Goods I 
Written by a Master Hand. 

No mush, slush, or trash, but a stirring truthful record of the 
^reat cattle wars of the early '90' s. 

Everything Clicks like a Colt 38 ! 

Makes the European war seem tame and life in the trenches a 
^astora 1 of peace in comparison. 

All Aboard for the Wild and Woolly West. 

The Book You Need ! The Book You Must have ! 

BUY IT NOW!!! 

Cattle Rustlers Of Wyoming is a book of 200 pages printed 
.i~>ai new large type and bound in attractive illustrated paper 
cover printed in colors. For sale by all booksellers and news 
dealers. Price 30 cents postpaid. 

J. S. GGILVIE PUBLISHING CO. 

57 ROSE STREET NEW YORK 



IT GRIPS! THRILLS! HYPNOTIZES y 

AND 

11111111=- Holds You Spellbound. 




6IPSY BUR 

The Romantic Hero of the Hystic 
Realm of Detective Literature. 

Those of you who have read 
u Macon Moore " will welcome 
this additional story by the same 

author JtJDSON R. TAYL3S. 

GIPSY BLAIR, The Western Detective, is a mighty figure of 
stupendous interest, whose astounding adventures and uncanny 
exploits one watches with throbbing heart and bated breath. 
In thi's tense and gripping drama from real life, one witnesses 
the unfolding of an absorbingly interesting series of criminal 
plots and counterplots, which revolve around a man of superb 
courage and heroic mould, at times fightrag single-handed 
against bands of the most notorious and desperate criminals. 
The rescue of the beautiful Lucy Leonard, frem the clutches of 
murderous desperadoes and outlaws, vibrates every nerve in the 
human body and is ©ne of the most fascinating and stirring in- 
cidents ever recorded in criminal history. 

Impossible to resist the weird fascination of this 
hair-raising drama of love and lawlessness. 

A FEAST 9f EXCITEMENT! A IOTAS. COCKTAIL! 

It makes the masterpieces of other de- 
tective fiction seem dull and commonplace. 

GIPSY BLAIR contains 250 pages, printed from 
large type, and bound in attractive, illustrated paper 
i covers. 



For sale by booksellers everywhere, or. sent 
b|y mail, postpaid, on receipt of Price, 25 Cents. 

BUY HERE AND NOW! DONT DELAY! 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
P. 0. Box 767. 57 BOSE STREET, HEW YOEX. 



ALL PEP FROM THE WORD GO! 

Grips like a Barbed Wire Fence! 

NEVER HALTS! NEVER TIRES! 
TENSE! DRAMATIC! THRILLING! 

The 




Man From The West 



HIE THERE YOU! Get 

busy and follow the trail of a 
breezy, dashing Western Ranch- 
er, who hits Wall Street like the tail end of a Kansas cy- 
clone, sweeps through its gilded palaces and temples of 
mammon as a broncho goes thru a bunch of frightened 
steers. 

See the cattle puncher drop his wad and get it back, 
and then some. See Texas bucking the Street and skim- 
ming the golden bubbles off the shimmering surface of 
the financial pond. 

Love, romance, passion, hate, intrigue, death and 
retribution all blended and woven by a master hand. 

GETS HOME LIKE A U-BOAT TORPEDO! 

A story lor the war time ! 
A story with a punch ! 

BOY IT NOW! 

The Man Iron the West contains 245 pages, illus- 
trated, bound in paper cover printed in colors, and wjll 
be sent by mail postpaid to any address on receipt of 50 
cents. 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

57 ROSE STREET NEW YORK 



THESCARLET LETTER 

By Nathaniel Hawthorne 

f Jk $ This is the most pathetic story of human 

<& £jL 4 love and passion ever told. For sixty years 

^ ^ ^ A this famous work has driven home to thous- 

^o^.«£,<=*>23 ands of hearts its terrible tale of justice, 

gone wrong. Its wonderful success has been attributed, 

to its intense appeal to the human heart, and it leaves all 

who read it a greater sympathy for the fallen but exalted 

Hester. 

The story takes the reader back to old New England 
as tho on a Magic Carpet to see from aloft the entrances 
and exits of the characters in the great human drama. 

Each scene overflows with atmosphere. The bleak- 
ness of New England climate gives an added grimness 
to the scene in which Hester is placed on the pillory, 
there to reveal to all Boston the scarlet "A," the emblem 
of her fall. Here are the bare trees and the leaves flying 
in riot before the wind ; the chilled Puritans huddling 
under their Geneva cloaks and the cold sun in a steely 
sky. 

Some say that Pastor Dimmesdale was an innocent 
God-fearing man lured to sin by a woman, and that his 
remorse in the end killed him, showing that he was not 
evil. 

Others think that Hester was the embodiment of 
divine love. She braved in silence the cruel punishment 
which only the Puritans knew how to inflict en- 
dured disgrace for herself and her child to save the good 
name of Dimmesdale ; and that in this and her love which 
remained true to the end, Hester showed herself a truly 
noble woman. 

What do you think ? 

Have you read the book ? 

Now is the time to do so, as we have just issued a 
photoplay edition of this Hawthorne Masterpiece contain- 
ing 256 pages bound in paper cover printed in colors, 
and illustrated with scenes from the photoplay. 

Price Postpaid SO cent* 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING CO. 

67 ROSE STREET NEW YORK 



STOP! HALT! ATTENTION! 




Read the most astounding and 
exciting love story of the age 

ONLY A 
GIRL'S LOVE 

BY 

CHARLES GARVICE. 



IT 

ENRAPTURES! ENTRANCES? 

THRILLS! DELIGHTS! 

In this intensely dramatic and thrilling love story, we 
watch with bated breath the unfolding of a high life drama of 
absorbing interest. Rank and wealth, pride and prejudice, 
vice and villainly, combine in a desperate and determined effort 
to break off a romantic and thrilling love match, the develop- 
ment, temporary rupture and final consummation of which, by 
the genius of the author, we are, with spell-bound interest, 
tense arteries and throbbing hearts privileged to witness. 
This desperate attempt to halt the course of true love and dam 
the well-springs of an ardent and romantic affection, will be 
watched by the reader with a boundless and untiring interest. 

New Scenes t New Faces ! New Features ! New Thrills ! 
SECURE THIS SUPERB NOVEL 

and learn for yourself the result of this astounding battle of 
true love against terriffic odds. 

FICTION LOVERS, NOVEL READERS, TAKE NOTICE! 
Just What You Are Looking For! 

A story that grips the heart and holds the reader spell-bound 
from start to finish ! 

A MENTAL FEAST, A LITERARY BANQUET ! 
You Want It! You Cannot Do Without It! Buy It Today! Nowl 

The book contains 380 pages of solid reading matter, bound 
in attractive paper cover, printed in colors. For sale by book- 
sellers aud newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, 30 cents. 

J. S. OCrlLVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
P. 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. 



SIZZLER FROM SIZZLERVILLE! 
Gets You From the Word So! 




ROHANCE ROUTED! 
FICTION ABASHED I 



m ATexas Cow 




In this tremendously interest- 
ing work the famous and heroic 
Cowboy King, Chas. A. Siringo, 
tells the story of his dare-devil 
life in the palmy days of the Wild South West. 

THE BLOOD RUNS RIOT 

as we watch the bellowing herds of long-horned cattle, roving 
tribes of blood-thirsty Indians, mighty bands of grazing buffalo, 
sweep panorama-like across the boundless plains and rolling 
prairie. The author in his breezy, irresistible style carries the 
reader through a thousand, blood-curdling adventures with 
marauding redskins, gamblers, desperadoes and stampeding 
steers, holding one tense and spellbound to the very end of his 
astounding narrative. 

A Pulsating Record of Red-Blooded Deeds ! 
A Thrill in Every Line ! A Sensation in Every Chapter I 

FACTS! FACTS!! FACTS t !! and TRUTH 1 !! ! 
triumphantly rout the wildest imaginings of the fictionZst! 

Get in line and secure the best record ever 
penned of the fast-vanishing Wild Western life. 

A TEXAS COWBOY contains 256 pages, printed 
from large type, and bound in attractive cover printed 
in colors. For sale by booksellers everywhere, or sent 
by mail, postpaid, on receipt of Price, 30 Gents. 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
P. 0. Bos 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. 




STOP! LOOK! LI5TENF 

Ten True Secret Service 
Detective Stories. 

BY 

Unquestionably the Greatest 3gs¥ 

Of Detective Stories Ever 

Offered ts the Public. 

These astounding and absorb- 
ingly interesticg accounts of 
erime in real life abound in hair- 
raising incidents that hold the reader spell-bound. 
Being narratives of actual facts, truthful records 
of the doings of crafty and desperate criminals, these 
stories possess for the reader a zest and interest 
wholly lacking in similar works on fictional lines. 

From the slenderest clue we view the trained 
sleuths, as they piece together strand by strand the 
meshes of the net which finally incloses the wrongs 
doers in the relentless grasp of the law. 

Away from the hackneyed and ordinary, and 
brushing aside the conventional, these marvellous 
stories mark a new epoch in detective literature. 

Truth That Makes Fiction Trivial ! 

A Thrill in Every Page! A Sensation in Every Chapter* 

Unparalleled in Interest! 

Unexcelled in Dramatic and Thrilling Incidents 

The book contains 280 pages, is bound, in heavy 

paper covers with handsome illustration in colors. 

Betail price, 30 cents. It is for sale by booksellers 

everywhere, or we will send it by mail, postpaid, oa 

receipt of price* Address 

J. S. OGILTZK PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
?. 0. Box 767. 57 EOSE STSEET, NEW YORK* 




BERTHA M. CLAY 

/* the Author of 

The Duke's Secret — Thorns and 
Orange Blossoms — The Broken Wed- 
ding Ring — A Mad Love — Dora Thorne 
—A Golden Heart — A Woman's 
Temptation — Repented at Leisure — 
Beyond Pardon — Thrown on the 
World. —Wife in Name Only. 
The above are the best works of this 
popular author, each one being a love 
story of unparalleled interest. By her 
magic pen we are carried through the 
intricate maze of thrilling and ro- 
mantic scenes until the plot of hate* 
against love, of injustice against jus- 
tice, and all the trials and tribulations 

• of the hero and heroine are ended, when we lay the story 

' aside with regret. 

MARY J. HOLMES' 

Books are also intensely interesting. Her two best are 

TEMPEST and SUNSHINE— and LENA RIVERS. 

CHARLES GARVICE 

Author of the following 
books is equally popular, 

A Maiden's Sacrifice — A Wounded 
j Heart — A Woman's Soul — The Ashes 
of Love — Fate — Only a Girl's Love. 

Guided by a master hand we watch 
with bated breath the unfolding of | 
the stories by this renowned author, j 
The unexpected happens, surprise fol- 
lows surprise, plot is succeeded by 
^counterplot; vice and virtue, honor 
and knavery struggle desperately for 
mastery until the mind and heart are \ 
stirred to their very depths. 




I The above books contain 250 to 460 pages each, printed on 
good paper in clear type, and bound in handsome paper cover 
( printed in colors. For sale by all booksellers or mailed by us 
i upon receipt of price, 30 cents., , 

U. J. OGILVIE PUB. CO., 57 Rose St., N.Y. 



•BMBttg 




LAUGH! YELL! SCR EAM I 

Read It! Read it! Read it! 



A Bad 



Boy's Disry 

Bj "LITTU GEORGIE," 

The Laughing Cycione. 



THE FUNNIEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN! 

In this matchless volume of irresistible, rib-tickling fun, 
the Bad Boy, an incarnate but lovable imp of mischief, records 
his daily exploits, experiences, pranks and adventures, through 
all of which you follow him with an absorbing interest that 
never flags, stopping only when convulsions of laughter and 
aching sides force the mirth-swept body to take an involuntary 
respite from a feast of fun, stupendous and overwhelming. 

In the pages of this excruciatingly funny narrative can be 
found the elixir of youth for all man and womankind. The 
magic of its pages compel the old to become young, the care- 
worn gay, and carking trouble hides its gloomy head and flies 
away on the blithesome wings of uncontrollable laughter. 

IT MAKES YOU A BOY ACAiN I 
IT MAKES LIFE WORTH WHILE ! 

For old or young it is a tonic and sure cure for the blues. 
The BAD BOY'S DIARY is making the whole world scream 
with laughter. Get in line and laugh too. BUY IT TO-DAY ! 
It contains 276 solid pages of reading matter, illustrated, is 
bound in lithographed paper covers, and will be sent by mail, 
postpaid, to any address on receipt of price, 30 cents. Address 
all ordres to 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
P. 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK 



THIS IS ITS" IT!! IT!!! 

i WOMAN'S SOUL 

By CHARLES GARVICE, 



A Literary Sensation! 

A FlatcfoSess flasterpiecef 

The Big Noise of Fiction! 

A Story that Grips the Heart! 

A Story that Stirs the Soul! 

Guided by a master hand we watch 
with bated breath the unfolding of a 
story of unparalleled interest. Ever 
the unexpected happens, surprise fol- 
lows surprise, plot is succeeded by 
counterplot. Vice and virtue, honor 
and knavery, true love and duplicity, 
struggle desperately and incessantly 
for mastery until the mind is bewild- 
ered and the heart and soul are stirred 
to their very depths. 
Swept irresistibly along the seductive and entrancing 
streams of romantic fiction, never for one instant is the 
reader's interest allowed to flag. When almost exhausted with 
the thrilling nature of the narrative, the end of this matchless- 
story is reached, and it is then with a sigh of regret the reader 
bids adieu to characters that 'have woven themselves around 
bis heart, and have become part and parcel of his very life. 

UNPARALLELED AND UNSURPASSED! 

New, Novel and Unconventional! 

AWAY FRO!! THE BEATEN TRACK OF FICTION I 

Classy! Unique! The Story of the Century! 
READ IT! BUY IT! JUDGE FOR YOURSELF! 




A WOFIAN'S SOUL contains 326 pages of solid reading 
matter, printed in, large type on good quality of paper, bound 
in paper covers with attractive cover design in two colors. 
For sale by newsdealers and booksellers everywhere, or sent 
hy mail, postpaid, upon receipt of 30 cents. 

J. & OaiLVIE PUBOSHHTO COMPANY, 
It. 0. Eox 767. 57 BOSS STREET, NEW YOBK, 



THRILLING! ABSORBING! DELIGHTFUL! 

The Story Sensation of the \ ear! 



fl [filoanoeD 




A WOUNDED HEART 



BY 



CHARLES GARViCEr 

Author of "The Ashes of Love,*^ 
"A Woman's Soul," Etc.. 



It Grips! It Holds! It Thrills! 



By the magic pen of the author we are carried through th<* 
seductive and intricate mazes of a thrilling and romantic lif« 
drama of unparalleled interest. 

In beautiful England, sunny France, and distant Australia^ 
we watch the movements of life-like, splendidly drawn fiesb 
and blood characters, and follow their fortunes with a zealous 
devotion that never flags. 

With breathless interest we witness the struggle for an an- 
cestral home, which finally passes into the posession of the scion 
of a noble house, the rightful heir, Sir Herrick Powis, thanks 
to the sacrifices of the heroine, than whom no more entrancing 
and beautiful character exists in the whole range of modern 
fiction. The ending of the story is, of course, a happy one, but 
this is not achieved until the trusting heart of the heroine has 
been sorely wounded, and she has passed through trials and 
tribulations, which win for her the love and sympathy of the 
spell-bound reader. 

REPLETE WITH THRILLING INCIDENTS! 

Teeming With Heart Interest and Dramatic Action! 

NEW ! NOVEL ! UNIQUE ! 

£ou Read this Book with Delight! You Lay It Down with a Sig&t 

BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! TO-DAY! NOW! 4 

Tfcs book contains 400 pages of solid reading matter boundl 
Wi attractive paper cover printed in colors. For sale by book- 
sellers and newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail, postpaid, 
on receipt of Price, 30 Cents. 

J. 3. OMLVIE PUBLIS2ITO COMPANY, 
?- 0. Box 767. 57 BOSE STEEET, NEW YOB*- 




It astounds ! arid them somel 

HAIR RAISING! 
Startung! Amazing! 

Sophie Lyons 

QUEEN OF THE BURGLARS. 

By Sophie Lyonj 

The Uncrowned Queen of Crime 

Xn this epoch making book in which truth makes the wildest 
tnaginings of the wizards of fiction dull and commonplace, Sophie 
l^yons, known to the police of two continents as the shrewdest, 
cleverest, brainiest, and most daring and resourceful criminal of 
the age, tears aside the veil and reveals the most desperate charac- 
ters of the underworld, the millionaire aristocrats of crime, as they 
•lot, plan and later execute their dark and incredible deeds. With 
breathless interest we watch these masked midnight marauders as 
the mighty steel vaults of the greatest financial institutions swing 
wide at their bidding, yielding their boundless treasures to the 
crafty cracksman and scientific burglar, the magic manipulators 
oi gun, dynamite and jimmy. 

Through the Whole Gamut of Crime, 
Stupendous and Blood Curdling. 

"We are personally conducted by the Queen of Criminals. Read 
how Gainsborough's matchless Duchess of Devonshire was stolen, 
and how the most desperate exploits in the annals of crime were 
successfully executed. Your heart will almost cease to beat as the 
authoress tells you of her miraculous escape from Sing Sing. 
Read how a million dollars was dishonestly made, and learn in 
spue of enormous ill gotten gains 

WHY CRIME DOES NOT PAY. 

TENSE! THRILLING!? BLOOD CURDLING!!! 

FICTION OUTDONE ! ROMANCE ROUTED I 

The most fascinating and astounding narrative of the underwer f 
•ver placed before tht public. 

The work contains 268 pages of reading matter besides be\:. 
lully illustrated and bound in handsome paper cover printed ii 
coloxfc, 

PAce 30 cents, for sale everywhere. 

J. S. OGLTOE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

57 Rose Street, .... new Yors, , 




The Host Popular Book in 
America To-Day 

— IS-- 

»»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»» 

"si euo; 

— BY- 

AUGUSTA J, EVANS. 

The history of this Book is remarkable. It was first pub» 
lislred nearly 45 years ago, and met with a fair measure of suc- 
cess ; but it was not until within the last three years that i% 
achieved special prominence, since which time over haiS a 
million copies have been sold. 

It islhard to account for this wonderful jump into popularity 
At the present time, except for the fact that the story is one ot 
real merit, and is now doubly recognized as such. It is a mark 
of signal distinction for the author, to think that she wrote a 
story so much ahead of the times. 

The story is founded upon the never-old theme of love — the 
pare love of a good woman— and shows the wonders that can be 
accomplished with and through it, even to the extent of the 
reclamation of an extremely talented and extraordinary maa 
having a predilection for evil and sin. 

No story written in years has aroused the discussion that th?s 
book has. 

Can you afford to miss it? 

Do you want to keep abreast of the times, and read what ofche? 
$jeople are talking about? Then buy and read ** ST. ELTiO." 

The book contains 440 pages, bound in paper cover. For sal« 
by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, or sent by mail* 
postpaid, upon receipt of price,, 30 CENTS. 

J. S. OGILVXE PUBLXSSHN& COMPANY, 
J>. 0. Boa 707. 57 EOSB SX&EET, SB W TOUE 



BETTER SAY. 

"I have entire confidence in you," not "I have every con- 
fidence in you." Don't Say "for some reason or other," 
but "for some reason or another." Don't say "between 
you and I" but "between you and me." Don't say 
"vaudeville," but "vod'vil." Don't say "fior'ist," but 
"flo'rist." Don't Say "mandoleen'," but "man'dolin." 
At the table — Don't bend your head forward for each 
mouthful; sit erect. Don't cut your bread, break it off. 
Don't introduce your soup spoon point first, but sideways, 
into your mouth. 

The above are only a few of the one thousand similar 
points of advice contained in our book 

Dont's for Everybody 

By FREDERICK REDDALE, 

containing over thirty chapters comprising Don'ts for authors, 
letter- writers, bachelors, old maids, parents, mothers, boys, 
girls, men, women, golfers, autoists, salesmen, buyers, public 
speakers, landlords, tenants, etc. Don'ts for social behavior 
in the parlor, in public, at church, at the table, etc. 

No one who has any desire to be well bred, polite, and 
educated should be without this book. The application of its 
instruction will immediately raise your standing among your 
friends, and acquaintances. They will wonder where and how 
you learned the things this wonderful little book teaches 

DON'TS FOR EVERYBODY contains 95 pages, printed 
from new, large, clear type, on excellent paper, is bound in 
paper covers, and will be sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt 
of Price, 25 Cents. 

Don't say " I will send for this book to-morrow/ say — 
u l will send for this book NOW ' then do so! 

J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, 

57 Rose Street, New York. 




One Hundred and Fifty 
House Plans for $1.00. 



PALLISER'S 

UP-TO-DATE 
HOUSE PLANS. 

By GEORGE A. PALLISER. 

We have just published a new book, with above 
title, containing 150 up-to-date plans of houses, cost- 
ing from $500 to $18,000, which anyone thinking of 
building a house should have if they wish to save 
money and also get the latest and best ideas of a practi- 
cal architect and eminent designer and writer on com- 
mon-sense, practical and convenient dwelling "houses 
for industrial Americans, homes for co-operative 
builders, investors and everybody desiring to build, 
own or live in Model Homes of low and medium cost. 
These plans are not old plans, but every one is up- 
to-date (1906), and if you are thinking of building a 
house you will save many times the cost of this book 
by getting it and studying up the designs. "We are 
certain you will find something in it which will suit 
you. It also gives prices of working plans at about 
one-half the regular prices, and many hints and helps 
to all who desire to build. 160 large octavo pages. 
Price, paper cover, $1.00; bound in cloth, $1.50. 
Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address on receipt of 
price. Address all orders to 

J, S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
P.O. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. 





lOO STORIES 
N BLACK 

esy bridges ®iviiarn:. 



Not in years, if ever, have we seen or read anything 
which approaches the stories in this book for real, 
true depiction of character of the Southern darkey of 
the present day. They are full of humor and enter- 
tainment, and absolutely true to life both as to the 
incidents related and the language used. The latter 
is so true, in fact, that our compositor who set the 
type for the book, said that he had never before seen 
anything like the diction and spelling. 

The author held for some years the position of City 
Clerk in the Mayor's Office of the City of Macon, 
Oeorgia, where opportunities were presented for full 
and complete observation of the people in the world 
of which he writes. 

The stories originally appeared in the "Macon 
Daily Telegraph,'* but the demand for them in book 
form was so great that we have now issued them in 
permanent binding. 

The book contains 320 pages with illustrations, and 
is bound in paper covers with attractive and appro- 
priate cover design. Eetail price, 30 cents. For 
sale by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, ox 
sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price. 

J. S. OGULVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
P, 0. Box 767. 57 ROSE STREET. SEW YOBS. 



HERE WE COME AGAIN 

With Another Rattling Good 

ADVENTURE AND DETECTIVE STORY! 

SPRIG6S, THE 
CRACKSMAN 

By HEADON KILL 




Ordinarily Spriggs was a cracksman, but the infor- 
mation lie gained while at work one nigh ; so su** 
prised him, that he forgot to " burgle," and aen and 
there decided to got busy on a job that meant a clean- 
up of a $60,000 diamond. It led him a perilous chase 
in which the native priests and followers of a hidden 
band in India showed him some things not seen on 
the "Strand." 

He also has trouble awaiting him on his return to 
England. His heart is in the right place, however, 
a little kindness, sympathy and help having been all 
that were required to change his attitude toward 
humanity, and he is able to show his gratitude at an 
opportune moment. 

A STIRRING, ENTERTAINING, 
SPELLBINDING STORY! 

The book contains 345 solid pages of reading mak 
ter, bound in attractive paper cover printed in colors. 
For sale by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, 
>r sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price, 30 cents. 

J. S, 0GILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
*. 0, Box 767. 57 E0SE STREET, NEW YlffiHL 



SYMPATHY AROUSED ! SENTIMENT CULTIVATED i 
LONGING SATISFIED! 

LADY VERNER'S FLIGHT. 

By "THt DUCHESS." 

Author of "Molly Bawn," "The Honor-, 
able Mrs. Vereker," Etc. 




" The Duchess " is famous as an 
author of those stories which de- 
light the heart and mind of young 
women readers through the artistic 
word-painting of scenes and inci- 
dents which arouse interest, stimu- 
late desire, and satisfy the appetite for mental 
diversion, recreation, entertainment, and pleasure. 

Lady Verner's Flight is no exception to her re- 
puted ability ; in fact, in it she quite surpasses her own 
standard, and the reader follows with breathless inter- 
est the vicissitudes and trials that mark the course of 
this pure story of English life in which there are no 
less than three love affairs going on at the same time. 

WITHOUT A PARALLEL IN INTEREST! 

ABOUNDING IN TENSE SITUATIONS! 

REPLETE with THRILLING INCIDENTS! 

You read this book with delight, and finish it with a sigh t 

Now is the time to secure a copy ! 
Don't delay, but buy and read this masterpiece of Action! 

The book contains 310 solid pages of reading mat- 

jit&r, bound in attractive paper ©over printed in colors. 

For sale by booksellers and newsdealers everywhere, 

or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of prioa, 30 cents. 

J. S. 0GILVIE PUBLISHING COMPAinf, 
P. 0. Box 767. 57 B03E STREET, NEW YORK* 



B-R-R-R ! BIFF ! ! BANG ! ! 

TORPEDOED 

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! 

Adrift in the Submarine Infested Waters 
of the War Zone ! 




' 



By E. H. JOHNSON 
A Victim of German Frightiulness 



Unequalled and Unsurpassed 

The War's Best and Most Hair Raising 
Narrative 

BATTLING WITH THE GERMAN U BOATS 
A Book That Will Stir Your Yankee Doodle Blood to Fever Heat 

Read how the author witnessed the sinking of com- 
rade ships; watch his vessel trailed by hostile raiders; 
hear the roar of the deadly Hun torpedo; view his good 
ship as it sinks beneath him and his struggles for life, 
and see him at sea a castaway on the northern coast of 
distant Africa. 

Truth That MaKes Fiction Tamo and Tedious.] 
Tho V Boats Aro Blocking Our Coasts. 

Read this astounding story of the pirates of the under- 
seas, a story of three continents ablaze with the horrors 
of the world's greatest war. Go over the top of the 
ocean's trenches with the hero author and buy 

TORPEDOED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN! NOW 

Instructive ! Educational ! Thrilling ! 

The book is printed from new, large type on good 
paper, bound in paper cover with attractive design in 
colors. For sale by newsdealers everywhere, or sent by 
mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price, 30 cents. 



J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
P. O. Box 767 57 Rose Street, New York 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proc 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: J(J^j 2001 

PreservationTechnologi 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVA1 

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